SOUTH KOREA
Unemployment rate dips
The unemployment rate dipped slightly last month to a seasonally adjusted 3.1 percent, led by job creation in the service sector, government data showed yesterday. Last month’s figure compared with 3.2 percent in July. The number of employed people stood at 25.29 million last month, up 432,000 from a year earlier — the largest on-year increase for 11 months, Statistics Korea said. The health and social welfare service sector created 175,000 new jobs last month compared with a year earlier, leading the overall job generation.
BANKING
Tougher penalties passed
EU lawmakers on Tuesday backed tougher penalties and fines for insider trading and other financial market abuses, aiming to bring rogue bankers to account and restore public trust. The European Parliament voted by a large majority to impose fines of up to 15 percent of a financial entity’s annual turnover or 15 million euros (US$20 million). Individuals will face fines of up to 5 million euros and could in the most serious cases be banned for life from working in certain jobs in the financial services industry, parliament said in a statement. The new rules cover a wider range of trading venues and investment instruments such as commodity derivatives than before and “should ensure a high level of investor protection in the EU,” it said.
BEVERAGES
Mexican tax plan criticized
Coca-Cola and other soda makers in Mexico on Tuesday criticized government plans to impose a tax on sugary drinks to curb the nation’s high rates of obesity and diabetes. Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto has proposed consumers pay an extra peso (almost US$0.08) for every liter of sweetened drinks, citing figures showing that the country competes with the US for the dubious title of world’s fattest nation. However, Coca-Cola de Mexico said in a statement that “a tax on beverages is ineffective to combat a problem as complex as obesity.”
SEMICONDUCTORS
TI gives Q3 forecast
Texas Instruments Inc (TI), the largest analog-chip maker, gave third-quarter sales and profit forecasts that were in line with estimates as demand for automotive and industrial parts helps counter a personal-computer slump. Revenue will be US$3.15 billion to US$3.29 billion, the company said on Tuesday. Earnings will be US$0.51 to US$0.55 a share, compared with estimates for US$0.53. In July, the company predicted sales of US$3.09 billion to US$3.35 billion. “We had expected that the first-half growth we had seen in the industrial and automotive markets would continue into the third quarter, and in fact it has,” Ron Slaymaker, vice president of investor relations, said in a conference call.
INVESTMENT
Dow Jones drops stocks
The Dow Jones industrial average is dropping Bank of America, Hewlett-Packard and Alcoa, its three-lowest priced stocks, as part of a six-company shakeup of the most widely known barometer of the US stock market. S&P Dow Jones Indices said on Tuesday it will add Visa Inc, sneaker maker Nike Inc and the investment bank Goldman Sachs Group Inc in the first three-for-three company change to the index since April 8, 2004. The changes will take effect at the start of trading on Sept. 23. S&P Dow Jones Indices manages the average and said the changes will not disrupt the level of the 30-company index.
Contract chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電) yesterday said it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Polar Semiconductor LLC to collaborate on the production of 8-inch wafers in the US. The collaboration aims to strengthen 8-inch wafer manufacturing in the US amid Washington’s efforts to increase onshore manufacturing of semiconductors, contribute to supply chain resilience against shifting geopolitical dynamics, and ensure a secure domestic supply of power semiconductors critical to automotive, electric grids, robotic manufacturing and data centers, the companies said in a joint statement. Under the MOU, Polar and UMC will identify devices for Polar to manufacture at
TECH TITANS: Amazon’s latest chip joins Google in competing for the 90 percent market share held by Nvidia, which claims it is ‘a generation ahead of the industry’ Amazon Web Services (AWS) on Tuesday launched its in-house-built Trainium3 artificial intelligence (AI) chip, marking a significant push to compete with Nvidia Corp in the lucrative market for AI computing power. The move intensifies competition in the AI chip market, where Nvidia dominates with an estimated 80 to 90 percent market share for products used in training large language models that power the likes of ChatGPT. Google last week caused tremors in the industry when it was reported that Facebook-parent Meta Platforms Inc would employ Google AI chips in data centers, signaling new competition for Nvidia. This followed the release last month of
Two companies wholly owned by the daughter of the founder of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) on Monday reported to the Taiwan Stock Exchange that they would dispose of all of the Hon Hai shares they hold. In filings with the exchange, Hong Wei Investment Co (鋐維) said it would sell the 2.771 million Hon Hai shares it holds and Frontier Investment Corp (承鋒投資) said it would sell its 2.409 million Hon Hai shares from tomorrow until Jan. 3 next year. The two companies are wholly owned and chaired by Shirley Gou (郭曉玲), the eldest daughter of Hon Hai founder Terry
TARIFF TALKS: The US secretary of commerce is eyeing more than US$300 billion in investments and said Taiwan would train US workers, but Taipei has denied the latter US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said the US is expecting a large investment pledge from Taiwan in trade talks, while President William Lai (賴清德) listed areas that need improvement in order for projects to be completed. “We’re in the midst of discussions,” Lutnick said on Wednesday. “But the fact is, this administration’s goal is to bring semiconductor manufacturing to America.” Lai on Wednesday said Taiwan is supportive of US President Donald Trump’s goal of reindustrializing the US, including efforts to ramp up semiconductor production. Such a goal would require the US to reduce its reliance on Taiwan as a key source
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