MACROECONOMY
Global growth to slow
Global growth is expected to lag this year and next, but for the first time in a long time, it is not all Europe’s fault. That is the view of a leading international economic body, which said on Tuesday that a slowdown in emerging economies and the potential for another US budget crisis are the main sources of concern for the global economy. In its half-yearly forecast, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development lowered its forecast for global growth this year to 2.7 percent and 3.6 percent for next.
ARGENTINA
Commerce secretary resigns
Feared Secretary of Commerce Guillermo Moreno has quit. Moreno was a pitbull for President Cristina Fernandez. He tried to jail economists for publishing independent inflation numbers, and broke up board meetings of the opposition Grupo Clarin. Executives have accused him of blocking their imports, freezing their prices and making their corporate lives miserable until they agreed to support the government’s economic policies. Presidential spokesman Alfredo Scoccimarro says Fernandez accepted the resignation on Tuesday.
INTERNET
Yahoo boosts buyback
Yahoo boosted its share buyback plan by US$5 billion, returning more cash to shareholders as chief executive Marissa Mayer seeks to revive growth at the largest US Internet portal. Yahoo is also to raise US$1 billion in convertible debt funding maturing in 2018, the Sunnyvale, California-based company said in a statement on Tuesday. Yahoo has made US$5.3 billion in buybacks since January last year, including US$1.7 billion in the third quarter, the company said on its earnings conference call on Oct. 15.
PHARMACEUTICALS
GSK to sell part of shares
British drugs firm GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) yesterday announced that it would sell one-third of its shareholding in South African company Aspen for ￡425 million (US$685 million). “GSK has agreed to the sale of 28.2 million ordinary shares in Aspen Pharmacare Holdings Ltd” via a placing of shares to institutional investors, it said in a statement. Following settlement of the sale, GSK will hold 56.5 million ordinary shares in Aspen, representing 12.4 percent of the issued share capital.
MEDICAL EQUIPMENT
Johnson & Johnson settles
Johnson & Johnson on Tuesday said that it would pay US$2.5 billion to settle thousands of lawsuits brought by hip replacement patients who accuse the company of selling faulty implants that led to injuries and additional surgeries. The agreement presented in US District Court in Toledo, Ohio, is one of the largest for the medical device industry. It resolves an estimated 8,000 cases of patients who had to have the company’s metal ball-and-socket hip implant removed or replaced. The deal provides about US$250,000 per patient and covers those who had their implants removed or replaced before Aug. 31 this year.
JUSTICE
Trader jailed for scheme
A former trader was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison on Tuesday for an unauthorized purchase of about US$1 billion in Apple Inc stock that eventually led to the demise of financial services firm Rochdale Securities. David Miller, 41, was sentenced by US District Judge Robert Chatigny in Hartford, Connecticut, seven months after pleading guilty to wire fraud and conspiracy.
Taiwan will prioritize the development of silicon photonics by taking advantage of its strength in the semiconductor industry to build another shield to protect the local economy, National Development Council (NDC) Minister Paul Liu (劉鏡清) said yesterday. Speaking at a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee, Liu said Taiwan already has the artificial intelligence (AI) industry as a shield, after the semiconductor industry, to safeguard the country, and is looking at new unique fields to build more economic shields. While Taiwan will further strengthen its existing shields, over the longer term, the country is determined to focus on such potential segments as
UNCERTAINTY: Innolux activated a stringent supply chain management mechanism, as it did during the COVID-19 pandemic, to ensure optimal inventory levels for customers Flat-panel display makers AUO Corp (友達) and Innolux Corp (群創) yesterday said that about 12 to 20 percent of their display business is at risk of potential US tariffs and that they would relocate production or shipment destinations to mitigate the levies’ effects. US tariffs would have a direct impact of US$200 million on AUO’s revenue, company chairman Paul Peng (彭雙浪) told reporters on the sidelines of the Touch Taiwan trade show in Taipei yesterday. That would make up about 12 percent of the company’s overall revenue. To cope with the tariff uncertainty, AUO plans to allocate its production to manufacturing facilities in
COLLABORATION: Given Taiwan’s key position in global supply chains, the US firm is discussing strategies with local partners and clients to deal with global uncertainties Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) yesterday said it is meeting with local ecosystem partners, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), to discuss strategies, including long-term manufacturing, to navigate uncertainties such as US tariffs, as Taiwan occupies an important position in global supply chains. AMD chief executive officer Lisa Su (蘇姿丰) told reporters that Taiwan is an important part of the chip designer’s ecosystem and she is discussing with partners and customers in Taiwan to forge strong collaborations on different areas during this critical period. AMD has just become the first artificial-intelligence (AI) server chip customer of TSMC to utilize its advanced
Chizuko Kimura has become the first female sushi chef in the world to win a Michelin star, fulfilling a promise she made to her dying husband to continue his legacy. The 54-year-old Japanese chef regained the Michelin star her late husband, Shunei Kimura, won three years ago for their Sushi Shunei restaurant in Paris. For Shunei Kimura, the star was a dream come true. However, the joy was short-lived. He died from cancer just three months later in June 2022. He was 65. The following year, the restaurant in the heart of Montmartre lost its star rating. Chizuko Kimura insisted that the new star is still down
RSS