EUROPEAN UNION
Banking union deal struck
Finance ministers on Wednesday reached a banking union accord which will hand Brussels unprecedented new powers to prevent failing banks from wrecking the bloc’s economy, official sources said. The Single Resolution Mechanism will close failing banks before they can damage the wider economy and, along with a new supervisory regime, forms the banking union. This was drawn up in response to the financial and debt crises that brought down many banks and nearly drove the eurozone to its knees as governments had to be bailed out after rescuing their lenders.
BANKING
Citigroup, AIA ink contract
Citigroup Inc has chosen AIA Group Ltd to sell life insurance through its branch network in 11 Asia-Pacific countries as the US bank slashes the number of insurers it partners with in the region. The exclusive 15-year agreement allows AIA to sell products to the US bank’s customers in countries from China to Australia, Citigroup and AIA said in separate statements yesterday. The partnerships will be set up in each territory next year, Hong Kong-based AIA said.
AUTOMAKERS
Ford stock hit by guidance
Ford Motor Co shares tumbled more than 6 percent on Wednesday after the company forecast disappointing profit for next year and said its mid-decade profit margin target was at risk. The company expects full-year pre-tax profit to come in at US$7 billion to US$8 billion next year, below the US$8.5 billion expected for this year. Most analysts were projecting profits to rise next year. Ford said earnings will be dragged down from the effects of an unusually busy schedule of new car launches next year that will cause higher startup costs and force lower prices on vehicles being phased out.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Facebook, banks face suit
A US federal judge said Facebook Inc chief executive Mark Zuckerberg and dozens of banks must face a lawsuit accusing the social media company of misleading investors about its financial condition before its US$16 billion initial public offering last year. In a decision made public on Wednesday, US District Judge Robert Sweet in Manhattan said investors could pursue claims that Facebook omitted material information from its registration statement.
FINANCE
SAC manager convicted
A portfolio manager for one of the largest US hedge funds who was accused of using insider trading to boost sagging results in 2007 has been found guilty of all charges at a New York City trial. A jury in a Manhattan federal court issued the verdict for Michael Steinberg on Wednesday. Steinberg’s case was the first to result from the US’ crackdown on insider trading at SAC Capital Advisors. The Connecticut-based firm this month agreed to pay a record US$1.8 billion to settle insider trading charges.
SOFTWARE
Oracle Q3 income dips
Oracle’s net income for the three months ending last month edged down, hurt by flat revenue from new software licenses and cloud software subscriptions, but still beat Wall Street predictions. The business software maker earned US$2.55 billion, or US$0.56 per share, compared with US$2.58 billion, or US$0.53 per share, in the same quarter a year ago. Excluding charges, the firm posted an adjusted profit of US$0.69 per share for the recent quarter. Revenue rose 2 percent to US$9.28 billion from US$9.09 billion, it said.
HSBC Holdings PLC is deepening its commitment to Taiwan as the economy emerges as one of the bank’s fastest-growing markets globally, driven by an artificial intelligence (AI) investment boom, expanding cross-border trade, and rising wealth creation. “The advantage that Taiwan has is a growth story linked to the semiconductor and broader AI industries, strong underlying corporate performance, and wealth creation,” said Surendra Rosha, HSBC’s co-chief executive for Asia and the Middle East, in an exclusive interview with the Taipei Times on June 2, during this year’s HSBC Taiwan Conference. That combination has helped HSBC cement its position as the most profitable international
Taiwanese firms have increased investment in the Philippines in recent years as Manila’s ties with Washington deepen and global supply chains continue to shift away from China, an expert at the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. The Philippines had not been among Taiwanese investors’ top choices in Southeast Asia, CIER Taiwan ASEAN Studies Center director Kristy Hsu (徐遵慈) said at a seminar in Taipei. However, Taiwan’s investment in the country has grown significantly since the COVID-19 pandemic, reaching US $257 million last year, a high in recent years, she said. Although Taiwan’s total investment in the Philippines still lags
Intel Corp regards Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) as a longstanding partner, as the US chipmaker would continue outsourcing production of advanced chips to TSMC, Intel chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武) said yesterday. “I don’t look at people as competitors. I look at the collaboration... Nvidia is also, you know, a good friend,” Tan told a news conference following his keynote speech at the Computex trade show in Taipei. “It’s a very trusted partnership for us... We are a big, top customer for them, and we’re going to continue doing that,” he said, referring to TSMC, the world’s largest foundry
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday said it would work with US chipmaker Intel Corp to jointly develop and deploy next-generation artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and intelligent computing platforms in a move to capture booming demand for AI computing systems. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康), said in a statement that the partnership would combine its global manufacturing scale, system integration expertise and AI data center deployment capabilities with Intel’s strengths in processor architecture, silicon technologies and software ecosystem. The companies said they plan to work on equipment used in AI data centers, including server racks powered by
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