BANKING
Obama nominates economist
US President Barack Obama has nominated economist Kathryn Dominguez to serve on the US Federal Reserve’s board of governors. In a statement, Obama said that Dominguez’s deep knowledge of the financial system, monetary policy and international markets qualifies her to serve at “this important time for our economy.” Dominguez, a University of Michigan professor, must be confirmed by the US Senate to serve on the board of governors. If confirmed, she would serve through January 2018.
FINANCE
MAS, SGX review roles
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said it was reviewing the regulatory role of Singapore Exchange Ltd (SGX) as global bourses expand in the city-state. The central bank and SGX are looking at how they split up duties in areas including listing and surveillance, the MAS said. Deutsche Boerse AG said last month its unit, Eurex Exchange Asia, would open a derivatives exchange in Singapore in the second quarter of next year. Intercontinental Exchange Inc, which bought the Singapore Mercantile Exchange for US$150 million in February last year, plans to start futures trading in the island nation later this year.
PHARMACEUTICALS
Novartis Q2 profit fell 32%
Swiss-based pharmaceutical company Novartis AG said that second-quarter net income dropped 32 percent over the same quarter last year, brought down primarily by poor performance from associated companies and negative effects of a strong US dollar. Second-quarter net income was US$1.856 billion, down from US$2.723 billion in the same quarter last year. Net sales declined 5 percent to US$12.694 billion. For this year, group sales are expected to grow by mid-single digits and operating income is expected to grow ahead of sales at a high single-digit rate, Novartis said.
LUXURY GOODS
Japan lifts Hermes Q2 sales
Luxury-goods maker Hermes International SCA reported a 22 percent increase in second-quarter sales, led by accelerating growth in Japan. Revenue rose to 1.17 billion euros (US$1.27 billion), Paris-based Hermes said in a statement yesterday, near the median of 14 estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Growth of 10 percent excluding currency swings beat analysts’ estimates.
SOFTWARE
SAP sees margin pressure
German business software maker SAP reported rising revenue as businesses snapped up new versions of its software delivered online, a trend that is also weighing on its profit margins. Sales rose 20 percent to 4.97 billion euros, boosted by the euro’s drop, SAP said yesterday. That topped the 4.91 billion euro average estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. The operating profit margin shrank to 28 percent, missing the 28.5 percent predicted by analysts.
RETAIL
A&P files for bankruptcy
Grocery store operator A&P is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy with plans to sell off stores as it faces increasingly tough competition. This marks the second time in five years that the Montvale, New Jersey-based company has filed for bankruptcy. This time around, it said it has more than 100,000 creditors along with more than US$1 billion in liabilities and over US$1 billion in assets. The company plans to sell as many of its 296 stores as possible and said it has bidders for 120 of those operations with expected proceeds of US$600 million.
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
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
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
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