AUSTRALIA
Jobless rate edges higher
The unemployment rate edged up to 5.8 percent last month, a level not seen since the global financial crisis, with the sluggish economy shedding 10,800 jobs as the mining investment boom unwinds. The Bureau of Statistics said the seasonally adjusted rate — up from 5.7 percent in July — was the result of losses in full-time and part-time employment, and is the highest since August 2009. While the headline figure was in line with forecasts, analysts had expected the economy to create 10,000 jobs, while the proportion of the population in or looking for work fell, a sign that people were giving up on job-seeking.
CHINA
Scientific planning touted
The nation must plan scientifically for “high-quality” urbanization that is human-oriented and energy-saving, a senior official at the nation’s top economic planning agency said in remarks published yesterday. National Development and Reform Commission vice chairman Zhang Xiaoqiang (張曉強) also said China’s urbanization level, at about 52 percent of the population, still has a long way to catch up with that of developed economies and even some other Asian nations. The commission had said it would unveil an urbanization plan in the second half of this year.
TELECOMS
Softbank to receive loans
Japanese mobile telecom Softbank Corp is to receive US$3 billion in loans from government-affiliated banks as it takes advantage of a drive to boost international acquisitions and investment, a report said yesterday. The news comes two months after Softbank completed the US$21.6 billion buyout of US telecom Sprint Nextel Corp, the biggest overseas acquisition ever by a Japanese firm. The Bank for International Cooperation and Development Bank of Japan is to offer the ￥300 billion (US$3 billion) of loans, the Nikkei business daily said yesterday, without citing sources.
TELECOMS
Vodafone data stolen
Mobile phone and broadband provider Vodafone Deutschland says it was the target of a large-scale data theft affecting the personal details of 2 million German customers. Spokesman Alexander Leinhos said the attack was conducted by an unidentified systems administrator who worked for a company contracted by Vodafone. Vodafone said in a statement yesterday that the stolen data included customers’ name, address, date of birth and bank details. Credit card information and passwords were not stolen, the firm said.
PAPER
Alabama mill to be closed
International Paper said on Wednesday it would close an Alabama plant amid falling demand as US consumers switch to online alternatives. The leading US global paper and paper products company said it had tried unsuccessfully to avoid closing its Courtland Mill in Alabama. The closure affects 1,100 employees. The mill is to be shut down in stages to be completed by the end of the first quarter of next year, the company said.
INTERNET
Pandora appoints ad star
Internet radio titan Pandora on Wednesday appointed a digital advertising star as its chief executive. Brian McAndrews took the helm of the Oakland, California-based firm as Apple Inc is poised to launch an iTunes Radio service on Wednesday next week. McAndrews succeeds Joe Kennedy, who announced his departure earlier this year after nine years at the helm.
To many, Tatu City on the outskirts of Nairobi looks like a success. The first city entirely built by a private company to be operational in east Africa, with about 25,000 people living and working there, it accounts for about two-thirds of all foreign investment in Kenya. Its low-tax status has attracted more than 100 businesses including Heineken, coffee brand Dormans, and the biggest call-center and cold-chain transport firms in the region. However, to some local politicians, Tatu City has looked more like a target for extortion. A parade of governors have demanded land worth millions of dollars in exchange
An Indonesian animated movie is smashing regional box office records and could be set for wider success as it prepares to open beyond the Southeast Asian archipelago’s silver screens. Jumbo — a film based on the adventures of main character, Don, a large orphaned Indonesian boy facing bullying at school — last month became the highest-grossing Southeast Asian animated film, raking in more than US$8 million. Released at the end of March to coincide with the Eid holidays after the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, the movie has hit 8 million ticket sales, the third-highest in Indonesian cinema history, Film
BIG BUCKS: Chairman Wei is expected to receive NT$34.12 million on a proposed NT$5 cash dividend plan, while the National Development Fund would get NT$8.27 billion Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday announced that its board of directors approved US$15.25 billion in capital appropriations for long-term expansion to meet growing demand. The funds are to be used for installing advanced technology and packaging capacity, expanding mature and specialty technology, and constructing fabs with facility systems, TSMC said in a statement. The board also approved a proposal to distribute a NT$5 cash dividend per share, based on first-quarter earnings per share of NT$13.94, it said. That surpasses the NT$4.50 dividend for the fourth quarter of last year. TSMC has said that while it is eager
‘IMMENSE SWAY’: The top 50 companies, based on market cap, shape everything from technology to consumer trends, advisory firm Visual Capitalist said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) was ranked the 10th-most valuable company globally this year, market information advisory firm Visual Capitalist said. TSMC sat on a market cap of about US$915 billion as of Monday last week, making it the 10th-most valuable company in the world and No. 1 in Asia, the publisher said in its “50 Most Valuable Companies in the World” list. Visual Capitalist described TSMC as the world’s largest dedicated semiconductor foundry operator that rolls out chips for major tech names such as US consumer electronics brand Apple Inc, and artificial intelligence (AI) chip designers Nvidia Corp and Advanced
RSS