INTERNET
Braintree aims to use bitcoin
EBay Inc’s Braintree unit, one of its electronic-payments businesses, is exploring ways to support bitcoin payments, a person with knowledge of the discussions said. Braintree, which works with online and mobile-only startups so that people can easily pay for goods and services, has held discussions with bitcoin payment-service provider Coinbase Inc, said the person, who asked not to be identified because talks are ongoing and an agreement hasn’t been signed. The Wall Street Journal reported the negotiations on Thursday. “We do believe that bitcoin will play an important role in payments in the future but we have nothing to announce,” a spokeswoman for Ebay Jennifer Hakes wrote in an e-mail on Friday. EBay, which also operates PayPal, would join other merchants in accepting bitcoin. Dell Inc began accepting bitcoins for computers in July. Dish Networks Corp, Overstock.com Inc and Expedia Inc also accept the virtual currency.
AUTOMAKERS
Ford recalls 160,000 cars
Ford is recalling about 160,000 Focus ST hatchbacks and Escape crossovers from last year and this year’s model years because the turbocharged, 2 liter, 4 cylinder engine could lose power or stall, the automaker said on Friday. The action includes about 133,000 vehicles in the US and 25,000 in Canada. The connections for the engine wiring harness might have been “insufficiently compressed,” a spokeswoman for Ford Kelli Felker said in an e-mail. The defect could lead to drivability problems, including the engine stalling without warning. Felker said the automaker was not aware of any accidents or injuries related to the problem. The action by Ford follows a number of recalls related to stalling.
MACROECONOMICS
Fitch raises Ireland rating
Fitch Ratings Ltd on Friday revised Ireland’s sovereign credit rating up a notch to “A-” citing an “employment-led recovery” with a healthier banking system. Fitch is the second of the big three rating agencies to pull Ireland’s rating up from “BBB+” to “A-” and thus higher into investment grade territory. In June Standard & Poor’s was the first to do so, citing the eurozone member’s improved domestic prospects. However while Standard & Poor’s gave Ireland’s economy a positive outlook Fitch was more cautious, giving it a stable outlook. Irish unemployment fell again last month to a fresh five-year low, as the economy continues to recover.
INTERNET
Google to buy Jetpac
Google Inc is buying Jetpac Inc, a software developer for analyzing digital pictures, as it seeks to organize the world’s information and deliver it alongside advertisements on desktops and mobile phones. Jetpac Inc uses information gleaned from photos on social media Web sites, such as Facebook Inc’s Instagram service, to create city guides. By analyzing pictures of food, decor and people, Jetpac’s software offers insights into cities. The terms of the acquisition, disclosed on Jetpac’s Web site yesterday, were not disclosed. Earlier this month, it said it was acquiring smartphone-messaging app Emu and video-creation service Directr Inc, bolstering its mobile and advertising capabilities. The company more than tripled spending on deals in the first half of the year to US$4.2 billion, according to a filing last month.
WEAKER ACTIVITY: The sharpest deterioration was seen in the electronics and optical components sector, with the production index falling 13.2 points to 44.5 Taiwan’s manufacturing sector last month contracted for a second consecutive month, with the purchasing managers’ index (PMI) slipping to 48, reflecting ongoing caution over trade uncertainties, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. The decline reflects growing caution among companies amid uncertainty surrounding US tariffs, semiconductor duties and automotive import levies, and it is also likely linked to fading front-loading activity, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) said. “Some clients have started shifting orders to Southeast Asian countries where tariff regimes are already clear,” Lien told a news conference. Firms across the supply chain are also lowering stock levels to mitigate
IN THE AIR: While most companies said they were committed to North American operations, some added that production and costs would depend on the outcome of a US trade probe Leading local contract electronics makers Wistron Corp (緯創), Quanta Computer Inc (廣達), Inventec Corp (英業達) and Compal Electronics Inc (仁寶) are to maintain their North American expansion plans, despite Washington’s 20 percent tariff on Taiwanese goods. Wistron said it has long maintained a presence in the US, while distributing production across Taiwan, North America, Southeast Asia and Europe. The company is in talks with customers to align capacity with their site preferences, a company official told the Taipei Times by telephone on Friday. The company is still in talks with clients over who would bear the tariff costs, with the outcome pending further
Six Taiwanese companies, including contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), made the 2025 Fortune Global 500 list of the world’s largest firms by revenue. In a report published by New York-based Fortune magazine on Tuesday, Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), ranked highest among Taiwanese firms, placing 28th with revenue of US$213.69 billion. Up 60 spots from last year, TSMC rose to No. 126 with US$90.16 billion in revenue, followed by Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) at 348th, Pegatron Corp (和碩) at 461st, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) at 494th and Wistron Corp (緯創) at
NEGOTIATIONS: Semiconductors play an outsized role in Taiwan’s industrial and economic development and are a major driver of the Taiwan-US trade imbalance With US President Donald Trump threatening to impose tariffs on semiconductors, Taiwan is expected to face a significant challenge, as information and communications technology (ICT) products account for more than 70 percent of its exports to the US, Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) said on Friday. Compared with other countries, semiconductors play a disproportionately large role in Taiwan’s industrial and economic development, Lien said. As the sixth-largest contributor to the US trade deficit, Taiwan recorded a US$73.9 billion trade surplus with the US last year — up from US$47.8 billion in 2023 — driven by strong
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