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.
ISSUES: Gogoro has been struggling with ballooning losses and was recently embroiled in alleged subsidy fraud, using Chinese-made components instead of locally made parts Gogoro Inc (睿能創意), the nation’s biggest electric scooter maker, yesterday said that its chairman and CEO Horace Luke (陸學森) has resigned amid chronic losses and probes into the company’s alleged involvement in subsidy fraud. The board of directors nominated Reuntex Group (潤泰集團) general counsel Tamon Tseng (曾夢達) as the company’s new chairman, Gogoro said in a statement. Ruentex is Gogoro’s biggest stakeholder. Gogoro Taiwan general manager Henry Chiang (姜家煒) is to serve as acting CEO during the interim period, the statement said. Luke’s departure came as a bombshell yesterday. As a company founder, he has played a key role in pushing for the
China has claimed a breakthrough in developing homegrown chipmaking equipment, an important step in overcoming US sanctions designed to thwart Beijing’s semiconductor goals. State-linked organizations are advised to use a new laser-based immersion lithography machine with a resolution of 65 nanometers or better, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said in an announcement this month. Although the note does not specify the supplier, the spec marks a significant step up from the previous most advanced indigenous equipment — developed by Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment Group Co (SMEE, 上海微電子) — which stood at about 90 nanometers. MIIT’s claimed advances last
CROSS-STRAIT TENSIONS: The US company could switch orders from TSMC to alternative suppliers, but that would lower chip quality, CEO Jensen Huang said Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳), whose products have become the hottest commodity in the technology world, on Wednesday said that the scramble for a limited amount of supply has frustrated some customers and raised tensions. “The demand on it is so great, and everyone wants to be first and everyone wants to be most,” he told the audience at a Goldman Sachs Group Inc technology conference in San Francisco. “We probably have more emotional customers today. Deservedly so. It’s tense. We’re trying to do the best we can.” Huang’s company is experiencing strong demand for its latest generation of chips, called
GLOBAL ECONOMY: Policymakers have a choice of a small 25 basis-point cut or a bold cut of 50 basis points, which would help the labor market, but might reignite inflation The US Federal Reserve is gearing up to announce its first interest rate cut in more than four years on Wednesday, with policymakers expected to debate how big a move to make less than two months before the US presidential election. Senior officials at the US central bank including Fed Chairman Jerome Powell have in recent weeks indicated that a rate cut is coming this month, as inflation eases toward the bank’s long-term target of two percent, and the labor market continues to cool. The Fed, which has a dual mandate from the US Congress to act independently to ensure
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