SPAIN
Economy grows 1.4 percent
The nation’s recovering economy grew by 1.4 percent last year, provisional official data showed yesterday, after shrinking by 1.2 percent in the previous year, but remains plagued by mass unemployment. It is the first time there has been full-year economic growth since 2008, when a labor-intensive property bubble collapsed, pushing millions of people out of work. Growth accelerated in the fourth quarter to 0.7 percent from 0.5 percent in the third quarter, according to provisional figures from the National Statistics Office. The provisional figures are in line with the conservative government’s estimate for economic growth last year. The government predicts the economy, the eurozone’s fourth-largest, will expand by 2 percent this year. Minister of Economic Affairs and Competitiveness Luis de Guindos on Monday said the economy could grow by as much as 2.5 percent this year if oil prices and the euro stay low.
AVIATION
Qatar buys stake in IAG
Qatar Airways Ltd bought a 9.99 percent stake in British Airways PLC parent IAG SA, anchoring itself to its main European ally in a partnership that promises better access to the Americas and traffic flows through its Persian Gulf hub. The carrier from the Middle East might consider increasing its stake further over time, Qatar said in a statement yesterday. Qatar is limited to a 49 percent stake in a European carrier, and the airline said it wants to stick to its current holding for now. The surprise purchase of a stake comes as IAG itself seeks to purchase an airline, with its preliminary bid for Ireland’s Aer Lingus PLC valued at about US$1.52 billion.
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Singapore charges traders
Two former foreign exchange traders from HSBC Holdings PLC and Deutsche Bank AG were charged in Singapore for allegedly cheating their employers by making false trades. The two men, in unrelated cases, bought and sold about US$1.1 billion in US dollars in November 2009 using the banks’ accounts to get preferential rates for themselves, according to charge sheets filed on Thursday with a Singapore state court. They allegedly made wrongful gains of about S$370,000 (US$295,928). Former HSBC senior dealer Ivan Chng, 46, faces 149 charges for about US$870 million of trades to facilitate transactions in his wife’s accounts. He allegedly made a wrongful gain of around S$230,000. Toh Hway Khuan, 49, was charged with 39 counts and made almost US$300 million in US dollar trades. The former Deutsche Bank spot trader is accused of unlawfully making about S$140,000. Each charge carries a maximum seven-year jail term and a fine of as much as S$250,000.
AUTOMAKERS
Ford net income nosedives
After several years as the leader in profits and performance among US automakers, the Ford Motor Co, hit a speed bump last year. Ford said on Thursday that its net income for the year plummeted 56 percent from the previous year, primarily because of higher costs, lower volumes and a series of surprising setbacks. For the year, Ford said it earned US$3.19 billion, down from US$7.18 billion in net income during 2013, and its global revenue fell 2 percent from the year before. The fourth quarter was particularly challenging for Ford, which ranks second in revenue behind General Motors Co among US carmakers. Its net income was US$52 million, a sharp decrease from the US$3.07 billion it earned in the year-ago period.
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
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has appointed Rose Castanares, executive vice president of TSMC Arizona, as president of the subsidiary, which is responsible for carrying out massive investments by the Taiwanese tech giant in the US state, the company said in a statement yesterday. Castanares will succeed Brian Harrison as president of the Arizona subsidiary on Oct. 1 after the incumbent president steps down from the position with a transfer to the Arizona CEO office to serve as an advisor to TSMC Arizona’s chairman, the statement said. According to TSMC, Harrison is scheduled to retire on Dec. 31. Castanares joined TSMC in
EUROPE ON HOLD: Among a flurry of announcements, Intel said it would postpone new factories in Germany and Poland, but remains committed to its US expansion Intel Corp chief executive officer Pat Gelsinger has landed Amazon.com Inc’s Amazon Web Services (AWS) as a customer for the company’s manufacturing business, potentially bringing work to new plants under construction in the US and boosting his efforts to turn around the embattled chipmaker. Intel and AWS are to coinvest in a custom semiconductor for artificial intelligence computing — what is known as a fabric chip — in a “multiyear, multibillion-dollar framework,” Intel said in a statement on Monday. The work would rely on Intel’s 18A process, an advanced chipmaking technology. Intel shares rose more than 8 percent in late trading after the
FACTORY SHIFT: While Taiwan produces most of the world’s AI servers, firms are under pressure to move manufacturing amid geopolitical tensions Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想) started building artificial intelligence (AI) servers in India’s south, the latest boon for the rapidly growing country’s push to become a high-tech powerhouse. The company yesterday said it has started making the large, powerful computers in Pondicherry, southeastern India, moving beyond products such as laptops and smartphones. The Chinese company would also build out its facilities in the Bangalore region, including a research lab with a focus on AI. Lenovo’s plans mark another win for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who tries to attract more technology investment into the country. While India’s tense relationship with China has suffered setbacks
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