JAPAN
Mt. Gox CEO charged
Prosecutors yesterday said that they have charged the head of collapsed bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox with embezzlement, amid fraud allegations over the disappearance of hundreds-of-millions-of-dollars-worth of the virtual currency. France-born Mark Karpeles, 30, was taken into police custody in Tokyo last month over the affair. He remained in custody yesterday, but has the option of petitioning the court for release pending trial. The charges are tied to allegations that Karpeles falsified data while another relates to claims he pocketed millions of dollars of bitcoin deposits.
CHINA
New credit rises after easing
The country’s broadest measure of new credit increased last month, suggesting monetary easing is showing signs of driving demand for loans. Aggregate financing rose to 1.08 trillion yuan (US$169.2 billion) last month from 718.8 billion yuan in July, according to the People’s Bank of China. New yuan loans fell to 809.6 billion yuan after surging to a six-year high in July on government stock rescue efforts. M2 money supply rose 13.3 percent from a year earlier.
SOUTH KOREA
BOK maintains rate at 1.5%
The central bank yesterday left its key interest rate unchanged at a record-low 1.5 percent, as it waited to see the timing of a much-anticipated US interest rate hike. The decision by the Bank of Korea (BOK) was widely expected, following a cut of 0.25 basis points in June. In July, the BOK cut its economic growth forecast for this year for the third time this year, to 2.8 percent. The bank has instituted four cuts in the past 12 months, totalling a full percentage point.
GERMANY
Inflation at only 0.2%
Inflation stood at just 0.2 percent last month, data showed yesterday, amid concerns that prices could begin to fall again in the 19-country eurozone. Using the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) — the yardstick used by the European Central Bank — inflation was even lower at just 0.1 percent year-on-year last month, the federal statistics office Destatis calculated. Falling energy prices were the main factor behind the stubbornly low rates, Destatis said in a statement.
FINANCE
GE asset management sale
General Electric Co (GE) is trying to sell the asset management arm that oversees the company’s pension plan as it continues to cut back on non-manufacturing operations. The company wants “buyers that possess considerable experience managing retirement plan assets” as it looks to shed GE Asset Management, according to a statement issued on Thursday. The unit has US$115 billion under management, including the company’s own plans and portfolios of clients around the globe, GE said.
INSURANCE
Fosun mulls rights offer
Fosun International Ltd (復星國際), Chinese billionaire Guo Guangchang’s (郭廣昌) conglomerate that has bought insurers and real estate around the world, proposed raising HK$11.7 billion (US$1.5 billion) in a rights offer to fund its push into the banking and insurance industries. The company plans to sell as many as 871.3 million new shares at HK$13.42 each, according to a Hong Kong Stock Exchange filing. Fosun will use the money for general corporate purposes including mergers and acquisitions in the banking and insurance industry and repayment of loans.
The Eurovision Song Contest has seen a surge in punter interest at the bookmakers, becoming a major betting event, experts said ahead of last night’s giant glamfest in Basel. “Eurovision has quietly become one of the biggest betting events of the year,” said Tomi Huttunen, senior manager of the Online Computer Finland (OCS) betting and casino platform. Betting sites have long been used to gauge which way voters might be leaning ahead of the world’s biggest televised live music event. However, bookmakers highlight a huge increase in engagement in recent years — and this year in particular. “We’ve already passed 2023’s total activity and
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) today announced that his company has selected "Beitou Shilin" in Taipei for its new Taiwan office, called Nvidia Constellation, putting an end to months of speculation. Industry sources have said that the tech giant has been eyeing the Beitou Shilin Science Park as the site of its new overseas headquarters, and speculated that the new headquarters would be built on two plots of land designated as "T17" and "T18," which span 3.89 hectares in the park. "I think it's time for us to reveal one of the largest products we've ever built," Huang said near the
China yesterday announced anti-dumping duties as high as 74.9 percent on imports of polyoxymethylene (POM) copolymers, a type of engineering plastic, from Taiwan, the US, the EU and Japan. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce’s findings conclude a probe launched in May last year, shortly after the US sharply increased tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, computer chips and other imports. POM copolymers can partially replace metals such as copper and zinc, and have various applications, including in auto parts, electronics and medical equipment, the Chinese ministry has said. In January, it said initial investigations had determined that dumping was taking place, and implemented preliminary
Intel Corp yesterday reinforced its determination to strengthen its partnerships with Taiwan’s ecosystem partners including original-electronic-manufacturing (OEM) companies such as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) and chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電). “Tonight marks a new beginning. We renew our new partnership with Taiwan ecosystem,” Intel new chief executive officer Tan Lip-bu (陳立武) said at a dinner with representatives from the company’s local partners, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the US chip giant’s presence in Taiwan. Tan took the reins at Intel six weeks ago aiming to reform the chipmaker and revive its past glory. This is the first time Tan
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