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.
HORMUZ ISSUE: The US president said he expected crude prices to drop at the end of the war, which he called a ‘minor excursion’ that could continue ‘for a little while’ The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Kuwait started reducing oil production, as the near-closure of the crucial Strait of Hormuz ripples through energy markets and affects global supply. Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) is “managing offshore production levels to address storage requirements,” the company said in a statement, without giving details. Kuwait Petroleum Corp said it was lowering production at its oil fields and refineries after “Iranian threats against safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz.” The war in the Middle East has all but closed Hormuz, the narrow waterway linking the Persian Gulf to the open seas,
Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技) yesterday said the DRAM supply crunch could extend through 2028, as the artificial intelligence (AI) boom has led the world’s major memory makers to dramatically reduce production of standard DRAM and allocate a significant portion of their capacity for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips. The most severe supply constraints would stretch to the first half of next year due to “very limited” increases in new DRAM capacity worldwide, Nanya Technology president Lee Pei-ing (李培瑛) told a news briefing. The company plans to increase monthly 12-inch wafer capacity to 20,000 in the first half of 2028 after a
Taiwan has enough crude oil reserves for more than 100 days and sufficient natural gas reserves for more than 11 days, both above the regulatory safety requirement, Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said yesterday, adding that the government would prioritize domestic price stability as conflicts in the Middle East continue. Overall, energy supply for this month is secure, and the government is continuing efforts to ensure sufficient supply for next month, Kung told reporters after meeting with representatives from business groups at the ministry in Taipei. The ministry has been holding daily cross-ministry meetings at the Executive Yuan to ensure
RATIONING: The proposal would give the Trump administration ample leverage to negotiate investments in the US as it decides how many chips to give each country US officials are debating a new regulatory framework for exporting artificial intelligence (AI) chips and are considering requiring foreign nations to invest in US AI data centers or security guarantees as a condition for granting exports of 200,000 chips or more, according to a document seen by Reuters. The rules are not yet final and could change. They would be the first attempt to regulate the flow of AI chips to US allies and partners since US President Donald Trump’s administration said it rescinded its predecessor’s so-called AI diffusion rules. Those rules sought to keep a significant amount of AI
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