SOLAR PANELS
PRC import price agreed
The European Commission said yesterday it had agreed a deal with Beijing to resolve a dispute over alleged Chinese dumping of solar panels in Europe, agreeing a minimum price for China’s imports. The deal to resolve the biggest trade dispute between China and the European Union will avoid punitive tariffs from August on Chinese solar imports into Europe that were worth 21 billion euros (US$27 billion) last year.
US CENTRAL BANK
End to bond-buying in sight
The US central bank should stop its bond-buying quickly and an end to the program was “in sight,” a senior Federal Reserve official said in an interview with a German magazine on Saturday. Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker, one of the Fed’s most fiscally conservative officials, said he expected ending the process to be successful, according to WirtschaftsWoche.
Lacker pointed to relatively low inflation and said a faster-than-expected fall in the US jobless rate was sufficient to start winding down the purchasing program.
BANK OF ENGLAND
Deputy governor named
The Bank of England says the Treasury veteran and UK diplomat to Europe Jon Cunliffe will succeed Paul Tucker as deputy to new governor Mark Carney. Tucker announced in June he would be stepping down after more than 30 years with the central bank. The Bank of England said that Cunliffe — who held senior roles at the Treasury from 2000 to 2007 — will assume his role in November. Cunlifffe was appointed the UK’s permanent representative to the European Union last January.
BANKS
No more commodities
JPMorgan Chase & Co said it plans to get out of the business of owning and trading physical commodities ranging from metals to oil, three days after a US Senate panel questioned whether banks are abusing their ownership of raw materials to manipulate markets. The announcement also comes as JPMorgan negotiates a settlement with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that may include a US$400 million fine and other penalties, according to a person familiar with the negotiations. JPMorgan could sell or spin off holdings that include warehouses, stakes in power plants and traders in materials such as gas, power and coal. The company estimated the value of its physical commodities at US$14.3 billion as of March 31, a company filing shows.
GAMES
Vivendi sells major stake
Vivendi SA is selling most of its majority stake in Activision Blizzard Inc for US$8.2 billion, giving the video game company back its independence as the French conglomerate tries to strengthen its balance sheet. Vivendi said that 429 million of its shares will be sold to Activision itself for US$5.83 billion, or US$13.60 per share. Another 172 million shares will be sold for US$2.34 billion to a consortium of investors including Activision CEO Bobby Kotick and Co-chairman Brian Kelly, who are contributing US$100 million each. Activision makes games such as “World of Warcraft” and the wildly popular “Call of Duty” series.
The Eurovision Song Contest has seen a surge in punter interest at the bookmakers, becoming a major betting event, experts said ahead of last night’s giant glamfest in Basel. “Eurovision has quietly become one of the biggest betting events of the year,” said Tomi Huttunen, senior manager of the Online Computer Finland (OCS) betting and casino platform. Betting sites have long been used to gauge which way voters might be leaning ahead of the world’s biggest televised live music event. However, bookmakers highlight a huge increase in engagement in recent years — and this year in particular. “We’ve already passed 2023’s total activity and
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) today announced that his company has selected "Beitou Shilin" in Taipei for its new Taiwan office, called Nvidia Constellation, putting an end to months of speculation. Industry sources have said that the tech giant has been eyeing the Beitou Shilin Science Park as the site of its new overseas headquarters, and speculated that the new headquarters would be built on two plots of land designated as "T17" and "T18," which span 3.89 hectares in the park. "I think it's time for us to reveal one of the largest products we've ever built," Huang said near the
China yesterday announced anti-dumping duties as high as 74.9 percent on imports of polyoxymethylene (POM) copolymers, a type of engineering plastic, from Taiwan, the US, the EU and Japan. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce’s findings conclude a probe launched in May last year, shortly after the US sharply increased tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, computer chips and other imports. POM copolymers can partially replace metals such as copper and zinc, and have various applications, including in auto parts, electronics and medical equipment, the Chinese ministry has said. In January, it said initial investigations had determined that dumping was taking place, and implemented preliminary
Intel Corp yesterday reinforced its determination to strengthen its partnerships with Taiwan’s ecosystem partners including original-electronic-manufacturing (OEM) companies such as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) and chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電). “Tonight marks a new beginning. We renew our new partnership with Taiwan ecosystem,” Intel new chief executive officer Tan Lip-bu (陳立武) said at a dinner with representatives from the company’s local partners, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the US chip giant’s presence in Taiwan. Tan took the reins at Intel six weeks ago aiming to reform the chipmaker and revive its past glory. This is the first time Tan
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