BANKING
Banks ‘near’ tax info deal
A group of Swiss banks is lining up to deliver information to US authorities investigating tax evasion by Americans, potentially moving a long legal battle closer to conclusion, the Wall Street Journal reported late on Thursday. Last week, the Swiss Cabinet unveiled a program to let about a dozen banks being probed by the Justice Department hand over “leaver lists,” or aggregate data on US clients’ accounts that had been transferred to other institutions as the US began targeting overseas tax evasion, the Journal reported. Some of the country’s biggest banks are eligible to apply or already have applied for Swiss government approval to participate in the program, according to people familiar with the situation, the newspaper said.
MYANMAR
Law overhauls central bank
Myanmar has introduced a new law to overhaul its central bank, the presidential office said yesterday, in the latest reform aimed at burnishing the country’s economic credentials. Details of the new legislation have not yet been published, but officials say the central bank will have more autonomy and will no longer operate as part of the finance ministry. “The significant thing is that the central bank will be an independent body,” a central bank official who did not want to be named said earlier this week. A presidential office spokesman said that Burmese President Thein Sein had signed the law on Thursday following parliamentary approval several days ago.
GOLD
Strike halts production
South African gold producer Village Main Reef said yesterday that a wildcat strike had halted all production at its Murchison mine in the north of the country. It is just the latest in a series of work stoppages to hit South Africa’s mining sector as annual wage negotiations get underway. Village Main Reef, said it would consider a court interdict to stop the strike. A raft of pay rises in the wake of last year’s Marikana tragedy — which saw 34 striking miners shot dead by police on one day — has emboldened miners’ demands for wage increases.
ENERGY
Schneider in Invensys talks
Schneider Electric was in talks about a ￡3.3 billion (US$5 billion) deal for Invensys yesterday, sending shares in the British group soaring on hopes others could still enter the fray. Invensys, which makes control systems for chemical plants, oil and gas facilities and nuclear powers stations, has long been mooted as a takeover target in a sector dominated by larger industrial groups. A deal by Schneider would boost the French firm’s industrial automation business. The British company said in a statement late on Thursday it was likely to recommend Schneider’s offer of 505 pence a share, which would represent a 15 percent premium to the stock’s Thursday close on the London Stock Exchange.
UNITED STATES
Budget surplus surprises
The US government posted an unexpectedly large budget surplus last month, a further sign of the rapid improvement in public finances that has taken the heat off Congress to find savings and raise the nation’s borrowing limit. Rising tax revenue, public spending cuts and big payments to the Treasury from government-backed mortgage companies helped the government take in US$117 billion more last month than it paid out, the US Treasury said on Thursday. Last month’s surplus was the largest on record for that month.
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday signed a letter of intent with Alaska Gasline Development Corp (AGDC), expressing an interest to buy liquefied natural gas (LNG) and invest in the latter’s Alaska LNG project, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a statement. Under the agreement, CPC is to participate in the project’s upstream gas investment to secure stable energy resources for Taiwan, the ministry said. The Alaska LNG project is jointly promoted by AGDC and major developer Glenfarne Group LLC, as Alaska plans to export up to 20 million tonnes of LNG annually from 2031. It involves constructing an 1,290km
NEXT GENERATION: The company also showcased automated machines, including a nursing robot called Nurabot, which is to enter service at a Taichung hospital this year Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) expects server revenue to exceed its iPhone revenue within two years, with the possibility of achieving this goal as early as this year, chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉) said on Tuesday at Nvidia Corp’s annual technology conference in San Jose, California. AI would be the primary focus this year for the company, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), as rapidly advancing AI applications are driving up demand for AI servers, Liu said. The production and shipment of Nvidia’s GB200 chips and the anticipated launch of GB300 chips in the second half of the year would propel
‘MAKE OR BREAK’: Nvidia shares remain down more than 9 percent, but investors are hoping CEO Jensen Huang’s speech can stave off fears that the sales boom is peaking Shares in Nvidia Corp’s Taiwanese suppliers mostly closed higher yesterday on hopes that the US artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer would showcase next-generation technologies at its annual AI conference slated to open later in the day. The GPU Technology Conference (GTC) in California is to feature developers, engineers, researchers, inventors and information technology professionals, and would focus on AI, computer graphics, data science, machine learning and autonomous machines. The event comes at a make-or-break moment for the firm, as it heads into the next few quarters, with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s (黃仁勳) keynote speech today seen as having the ability to
WAIT-AND-SEE: Last month’s consumer price index came in at 2.8%, which boosts expectations that the Fed would proceed cautiously to lower inflation sustainably The US Federal Reserve is widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged at its policy meeting this week, treading carefully amid uncertainty over US President Donald Trump’s economic policies, which include spending cuts and sweeping tariffs. Since January, Trump has imposed levies on major trading partners Canada, Mexico and China, and on steel and aluminum imports, roiling financial markets and fanning fears that his plans could tip the world’s biggest economy into a recession. The Trump administration has also embarked on unprecedented cost-cutting efforts that target staff and spending, while the US president has promised tax reductions and deregulation down the road. However,
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