EUROZONE
Spanish protest austerity
Thousands of people took part in a “march for dignity” in Madrid on Saturday to protest against austerity measures on the eve of a closely watched regional election in southern Spain. Yesterday’s vote in Andalusia, one of the poorest parts of the country, is seen as a test of the national mood ahead of Spain’s most unpredictable general elections in decades. The demonstrators were voicing their discontent with the painful austerity policies that have led the government to cut billions of euros from spending between 2012 and last year. Education, public health and social benefits have all been affected. Spain saw growth of 1.4 percent last year but after an economic crisis that lasted six years, the economy remains battered with an unemployment rate of 23.7 percent. Half of all young people between the ages of 16 and 25 are without jobs.
GEORGIA
Protests blame goverment
Tens of thousands of people marched on Saturday in one of the biggest anti-government rallies of recent years, blaming the authorities for an economic crisis and worsening crime. The former Soviet republic has been battered by a plunge in the Russian ruble and the conflict in Ukraine. Lower exports and remittances are also contributing to a rising current account deficit. A fall of nearly 30 percent in the lari over the past year has hurt many people, especially those with US dollar loans. Protesters, led by activists and leaders of the opposition United National Movement, marched down Tbilisi’s main avenue waving the national flag as well as the EU flag and holding posters saying “resign.”
FINANCE
Citigroup fires trader
Citigroup Inc fired a trader on Friday for allegedly mismarking an inflation-options book and dismissed his boss for lax oversight, according to a person familiar with the matter. Carl Bonde lost his job in New York after the bank determined he had inflated the value of his trading positions by less than US$30 million, the person said. Keith Price, head of US inflation trading, was dismissed for his failure to supervise Bonde, said the person, who asked not to be identified discussing a personnel matter. Bonde, a director, and Price, a managing director, left the bank this week, Citigroup spokeswoman Danielle Romero-Apsilos said in a telephone interview. Price reported to Citigroup managing director Roland Wikstrom.
PHARMACEUTICALS
GSK in UK talks to sell drug
GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK) said it wants to wrap up negotiations with the British Department of Health over the cost of its meningitis B vaccine so the medicine can be distributed in Britain.
The UK’s biggest drugmaker is engaged in “active discussions” with the government, GSK spokeswoman Catherine Hartley said in an e-mailed statement yesterday. British Secretary of State for Health Jeremy Hunt told the BBC earlier that he had spoken with GSK chief executive officer Andrew Witty in the past week and hopes to strike a deal “soon.” GSK, based in Brentford, England, acquired the Bexsero vaccine from Swiss drug maker Novartis AG last year. It has been approved for use in the US and Europe, yet disagreement over the price per dose has prevented a widespread rollout in Britain. Bexsero’s list price is ￡75 (US$112) a dose, and Hunt told the BBC on Saturday “the right price is around ￡5 a dose.” About 1,700 people a year in the UK contract meningitis B, which kills one in 10 people affected.
TECH RACE: The Chinese firm showed off its new Mate XT hours after the latest iPhone launch, but its price tag and limited supply could be drawbacks China’s Huawei Technologies Co (華為) yesterday unveiled the world’s first tri-foldable phone, as it seeks to expand its lead in the world’s biggest smartphone market and steal the spotlight from Apple Inc hours after it debuted a new iPhone. The Chinese tech giant showed off its new Mate XT, which users can fold three ways like an accordion screen door, during a launch ceremony in Shenzhen. The Mate XT comes in red and black and has a 10.2-inch display screen. At 3.6mm thick, it is the world’s slimmest foldable smartphone, Huawei said. The company’s Web site showed that it has garnered more than
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
Vanguard International Semiconductor Corp (世界先進) and Episil Technologies Inc (漢磊) yesterday announced plans to jointly build an 8-inch fab to produce silicon carbide (SiC) chips through an equity acquisition deal. SiC chips offer higher efficiency and lower energy loss than pure silicon chips, and they are able to operate at higher temperatures. They have become crucial to the development of electric vehicles, artificial intelligence data centers, green energy storage and industrial devices. Vanguard, a contract chipmaker focused on making power management chips and driver ICs for displays, is to acquire a 13 percent stake in Episil for NT$2.48 billion (US$77.1 million).
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
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