TIRES
China opposes US probe
China’s Ministry of Commerce expressed strong opposition yesterday to an anti-dumping investigation started by the US into imports of Chinese tires, the latest trade row between the world’s two largest economies. The ministry said in a statement that the the probe had serious flaws. The US adopted such measures in 2009, causing serious harm to trade ties the ministry added.
COURIERS
US indicts FedEx over drugs
The US Justice Department announced on Thursday that package-delivery giant FedEx had been indicted for allegedly facilitating the distribution of controlled substances and prescription drugs sold by illegal online pharmacies. A federal grand jury in San Francisco indicted the company for having “knowingly and intentionally conspired to distribute” the substances from unauthorized pharmacies, the US Justice Department said. The indictment resulted from a nine-year investigation by US authorities. In a similar case, Google agreed to pay US$500 million to settle charges that it sold advertisements to Canada-based online pharmacies that marketed drugs to US citizens in violation of US law.
INTERNET
Facebook adds ‘buy’ feature
Facebook said on Thursday it was testing a feature that lets users of the social network make purchases by simply pressing an on-screen “buy” button. The test was limited to a few small or medium-sized businesses in the US and credit or debit-card information is to be safeguarded by the company, Facebook said. The intent was to gauge the potential to drive retail sales through the Facebook news feed or on pages at the online social network, according to the company.
TECHNOLOGY
HP appoints chairwoman
Hewlett-Packard Co (HP) said on Thursday that chief executive Meg Whitman would chair the US tech giant, after the resignation of non-executive chairman Ralph Whitworth. Whitman, who previously was chief executive at eBay, has been president and chief executive officer of HP since September 2011. The news came just two days after Whitworth said he was stepping down for health reasons.
COMMUNICATIONS
Ericsson profit rises 76%
Wireless equipment maker Ericsson says second-quarter profit rose 76 percent to 2.7 billion kronor (US$394 million) mainly due to higher margins on its premium products, lower restructuring charges and improved overall efficiency. Net sales in the April to June period fell slightly to 54.8. billion kronor from 55.3 billion kronor in the same period last year. Net profit was 1.5 billion kronor a year earlier. The world’s largest supplier of mobile phone infrastructure said yesterday that political unrest prevailing in parts of the Middle East and Africa continued to have a negative impact on revenue in those regions..
FINANCE
Morgan Stanley profit surges
Morgan Stanley said on Thursday that its quarterly profit had more than doubled, thanks to strong performances from its investment banking and money-management units. Second-quarter net income jumped to US$1.88 billion from US$900 million a year earlier, after excluding an accounting gain. Adjusted for that gain and a big tax benefit, Morgan Stanley’s quarterly earnings worked out to US$0.60 per share, beating the average prediction of US$0.55, according to analysts polled by financial data provider FactSet.
SEEKING CLARITY: Washington should not adopt measures that create uncertainties for ‘existing semiconductor investments,’ TSMC said referring to its US$165 billion in the US Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) told the US that any future tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors could reduce demand for chips and derail its pledge to increase its investment in Arizona. “New import restrictions could jeopardize current US leadership in the competitive technology industry and create uncertainties for many committed semiconductor capital projects in the US, including TSMC Arizona’s significant investment plan in Phoenix,” the chipmaker wrote in a letter to the US Department of Commerce. TSMC issued the warning in response to a solicitation for comments by the department on a possible tariff on semiconductor imports by US President Donald Trump’s
‘FAILED EXPORT CONTROLS’: Jensen Huang said that Washington should maximize the speed of AI diffusion, because not doing so would give competitors an advantage Nvidia Corp cofounder and chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) yesterday criticized the US government’s restrictions on exports of artificial intelligence (AI) chips to China, saying that the policy was a failure and would only spur China to accelerate AI development. The export controls gave China the spirit, motivation and government support to accelerate AI development, Huang told reporters at the Computex trade show in Taipei. The competition in China is already intense, given its strong software capabilities, extensive technology ecosystems and work efficiency, he said. “All in all, the export controls were a failure. The facts would suggest it,” he said. “The US
The government has launched a three-pronged strategy to attract local and international talent, aiming to position Taiwan as a new global hub following Nvidia Corp’s announcement that it has chosen Taipei as the site of its Taiwan headquarters. Nvidia cofounder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Monday last week announced during his keynote speech at the Computex trade show in Taipei that the Nvidia Constellation, the company’s planned Taiwan headquarters, would be located in the Beitou-Shilin Technology Park (北投士林科技園區) in Taipei. Huang’s decision to establish a base in Taiwan is “primarily due to Taiwan’s talent pool and its strength in the semiconductor
French President Emmanuel Macron has expressed gratitude to Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) for its plan to invest approximately 250 million euros (US$278 million) in a joint venture in France focused on the semiconductor and space industries. On his official X account on Tuesday, Macron thanked Hon Hai, also known globally as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), for its investment projects announced at Choose France, a flagship economic summit held on Monday to attract foreign investment. In the post, Macron included a GIF displaying the national flag of the Republic of China (Taiwan), as he did for other foreign investors, including China-based
RSS