WTO
US wins PRC poultry appeal
The WTO has ruled in favor of the US in a long-standing trade dispute concerning allegations that China unfairly imposed anti-dumping tariffs that restricted US poultry exports. The US appeal to the WTO dates back to 2011 after China said that the US had engaged in dumping and had imposed tariffs on imports of so-called ``broiler products,’’ which include most chicken products, with the exception of live chickens. China said US chicken producers benefited from subsidies and were exporting their goods at unreasonably low prices. Countries are allowed to impose punitive tariffs to offset both practices, but US officials claimed China did not follow proper procedures when it imposed them in September 2010. The US also said tens of thousands of jobs were affected. China was one of the two top markets for US chicken exports before the tariffs.
INTERNET
Yahoo buys browser maker
Yahoo has acquired Rockmelt, a US startup company that built a Web browser tied to Facebook’s social network. It is the 20th acquisition that Yahoo has completed since Marissa Mayer became the company’s CEO nearly 13 months ago. Rockmelt has raised about US$40 million from venture capitalists and other investors since its inception. That makes it likely Yahoo had to be above that amount to buy the company. Rockmelt unveiled its Facebook-focused Web browser in late 2010, however, it never gained traction. The startup later introduced a version designed for smartphones and tablets.
LABOR
US employers slow hirings
US employers slowed their pace of hiring last month, but the jobless rate fell anyway, a pair of mixed signals that could make the US Federal Reserve more cautious about drawing down its huge economic stimulus program. The number of jobs outside the farming sector increased by 162,000 last month, the smallest gain in four months, and below analysts’ expectations, Labor Department data showed on Friday. The lackluster reading reinforced the view that the job market is only inching toward recovery from the 2007 to 2009 recession and weighed on financial markets. At the same time, gains in employment were enough to push the unemployment rate down to 7.4 percent, its lowest level since December 2008.
COMPUTERS
Dell rallies in buying battle
Just when it looked as if he might be ready to give it all up, Dell CEO Michael Dell has regained the advantage in the lengthy battle to buy the slumping personal computer company that he founded nearly three decades ago. He did it by persuading the company’s board to accept a slightly better offer that adds a one-time dividend in exchange for a pivotal change in how shareholders will vote on the deal. The latest twist in the saga that has lasted half a year emerged on Friday, shortly before Dell was scheduled to hold a shareholder vote on the company’s proposed sale to Michael Dell and investment firm Silver Lake Partners for US$24.4 billion, or US$13.65 per share. Michael Dell wants to further diversify a company that has had trouble adapting to the growing use of smartphones and tablet computers over the desktops and laptops that Dell makes.
Real estate agent and property developer JSL Construction & Development Co (愛山林) led the average compensation rankings among companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) last year, while contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) finished 14th. JSL Construction paid its employees total average compensation of NT$4.78 million (US$159,701), down 13.5 percent from a year earlier, but still ahead of the most profitable listed tech giants, including TSMC, TWSE data showed. Last year, the average compensation (which includes salary, overtime, bonuses and allowances) paid by TSMC rose 21.6 percent to reach about NT$3.33 million, lifting its ranking by 10 notches
Popular vape brands such as Geek Bar might get more expensive in the US — if you can find them at all. Shipments of vapes from China to the US ground to a near halt last month from a year ago, official data showed, hit by US President Donald Trump’s tariffs and a crackdown on unauthorized e-cigarettes in the world’s biggest market for smoking alternatives. That includes Geek Bar, a brand of flavored vapes that is not authorized to sell in the US, but which had been widely available due to porous import controls. One retailer, who asked not to be named, because
SEASONAL WEAKNESS: The combined revenue of the top 10 foundries fell 5.4%, but rush orders and China’s subsidies partially offset slowing demand Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) further solidified its dominance in the global wafer foundry business in the first quarter of this year, remaining far ahead of its closest rival, Samsung Electronics Co, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. TSMC posted US$25.52 billion in sales in the January-to-March period, down 5 percent from the previous quarter, but its market share rose from 67.1 percent the previous quarter to 67.6 percent, TrendForce said in a report. While smartphone-related wafer shipments declined in the first quarter due to seasonal factors, solid demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) devices and urgent TV-related orders
MINERAL DIPLOMACY: The Chinese commerce ministry said it approved applications for the export of rare earths in a move that could help ease US-China trade tensions Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰) is today to meet a US delegation for talks in the UK, Beijing announced on Saturday amid a fragile truce in the trade dispute between the two powers. He is to visit the UK from yesterday to Friday at the invitation of the British government, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. He and US representatives are to cochair the first meeting of the US-China economic and trade consultation mechanism, it said. US President Donald Trump on Friday announced that a new round of trade talks with China would start in London beginning today,
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