INDIA
Delhi mulls oil austerity
The government is considering closing fuel pumps at night as one of a number of “austerity measures” aimed at cutting its ballooning oil import bills, Minister of Oil Veerappa Moily said yesterday. Moily said details have not yet been finalized on the new measures, expected to be introduced later this month. “We have not worked out the details, how the austerity measures or the conservation mission will have to be launched,” Moily told NDTV news channel. The country imports about 80 percent of its oil needs and the import bill has risen dramatically because of high global prices and a plunging rupee. The Ministry of Oil wants to cut fuel demand by 3 percent and save about US$2.43 billion in foreign exchange outflows.
SOUTH KOREA
Falling prices cool inflation
The nation’s inflation slowed slightly to 1.3 percent last month, helped by stable or falling prices of education services, fuel and household items, state data showed yesterday. The consumer price index (CPI) rose 1.3 percent last month after gaining 1.4 percent in July, Statistics Korea said. The inflation rate has remained between 1 and 2 percent for 10 straight months. Last month’s reading was below the Bank of Korea’s target range of 2.5 percent to 3.5 percent. The central bank said earlier it expected inflation to accelerate to 2.1 percent in the second half of the year from an estimated 1.3 percent in the first half, projecting 1.7 percent for the entire year. The core CPI, which excludes volatile oil and agriculture prices, gained 1.3 percent year-on-year last month, compared with a 1.5 percent rise a month earlier.
EMPLOYMENT
Poll shows what lures talent
Sunshine and sandy beaches are all very well, but they are not enough to snare the best expatriate executives to Australia’s biggest city, Sydney, a study found yesterday. A survey of more than 3,000 executives around the world found that the “dominant issue in deciding where to locate is workplace related” and Sydney must do more to emphasize its desirability as a work destination. “While Sydney’s lifestyle remains the city’s major selling point, the challenges are to better define Sydney’s role in global talent’s career path and better promote the advantages it offers for career progression,” the study said. Global high-flyers nominated the opportunity to work on interesting and challenging projects as their top reason for moving cities, with “liveability” — such as the ease of getting around and a city’s security — ranked second.
GREECE
State to handle asset sale
Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and Minister of Finance Yannis Stournaras have both insisted any sale of state assets will be handled by the agency set up for this purpose and not by any firm based abroad and run by foreign management. Samaras and Stournaras were responding to rumors that the country’s creditors, unimpressed by the pace of privatizations, are pushing for a foreign-based special purpose vehicle to handle the selloffs. Stournaras told the Ethnos newspaper that he “categorically denied” that the national Asset Development Fund would be moved abroad. The fund’s two last chairmen have resigned over the past six months, one to face unrelated legal issues and the other for improper contact with the buyer of former state betting firm OPAP.
PROTECTIONISM: China hopes to help domestic chipmakers gain more market share while preparing local tech companies for the possibility of more US sanctions Beijing is stepping up pressure on Chinese companies to buy locally produced artificial intelligence (AI) chips instead of Nvidia Corp products, part of the nation’s effort to expand its semiconductor industry and counter US sanctions. Chinese regulators have been discouraging companies from purchasing Nvidia’s H20 chips, which are used to develop and run AI models, sources familiar with the matter said. The policy has taken the form of guidance rather than an outright ban, as Beijing wants to avoid handicapping its own AI start-ups and escalating tensions with the US, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the
Taipei is today suspending its US$2.5 trillion stock market as Super Typhoon Krathon approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed-income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Yesterday, schools and offices were closed in several cities and counties in southern and eastern Taiwan, including in the key industrial port city of Kaohsiung. Taiwan, which started canceling flights, ship sailings and some train services earlier this week, has wind and rain advisories in place for much of the island. It regularly experiences typhoons, and in July shut offices and schools as
Her white-gloved, waistcoated uniform impeccable, 22-year-old Hazuki Okuno boards a bullet train replica to rehearse the strict protocols behind the smooth operation of a Japanese institution turning 60 Tuesday. High-speed Shinkansen trains began running between Tokyo and Osaka on Oct. 1, 1964, heralding a new era for rail travel as Japan grew into an economic superpower after World War II. The service remains integral to the nation’s economy and way of life — so keeping it dazzlingly clean, punctual and accident-free is a serious job. At a 10-story, state-of-the-art staff training center, Okuno shouted from the window and signaled to imaginary colleagues, keeping
Arm Holdings PLC approached Intel Corp about potentially buying the ailing chipmaker’s product division, only to be told that the business is not for sale, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter. In the high-level inquiry, Arm did not express interest in Intel’s manufacturing operations, said the source, who asked not to be identified because the discussions were private. Intel has two main units: A product group that sells chips for personal computers, servers and networking equipment, and another that operates its factories. Representatives for Arm and Intel declined to comment. Intel, once the world’s largest chipmaker, has become the
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