MEDIA
ESPN removes videos
ESPN has begun removing its videos from YouTube due to rights issues surrounding next week’s launch of YouTube’s ad-free subscription service, YouTube Red. Fans can go to ESPN’s own Web sites for its videos, the sports network said on Friday. Media analyst Laura Martin of Needham & Co said it is likely that ESPN’s pre-existing contracts with cable and satellite companies prevent it from participating in YouTube’s subscription plan.
BANKING
Piguet Galland to pay US
Piguet Galland & Cie SA will pay US$15.4 million to avoid prosecution under a US program that requires participating firms in Switzerland to say how they helped US clients dodge taxes. The bank admitted that it maintained 337 US accounts since 2008 with a maximum value of US$441 million. The private bank is the 43rd this year to reach an agreement under which it will not be prosecuted.
TRADE
Pork import ban lifted
China has agreed to resume pork imports from 14 US plants and warehouses. The US Department of Agriculture said on Thursday that it had reached an accord permitting supplies from six processing factories and eight cold-storage facilities. China had stopped importing pork from the plants and warehouses after some cases where meat was found to have traces of ractopamine.
MACROECONOMICS
Eurozone activity picks up
Eurozone economic activity accelerated this month, a key business survey showed on Friday, in one of the best performances in four years which included a notable improvement in employment. Data monitoring company Markit said its composite Purchasing Managers Index rose to 54 points compared with 53.6 points last month, well above the 50-point boom-or-bust line.
MACROECONOMICS
Cyprus gets B+ debt rating
Fitch Ratings Ltd has upgraded Cyprus’ government debt rating by two notches to “B+” as the bailed-out country has done well to meet or exceed budget targets and a better-than-expected public debt. Fitch also gave Cyprus a positive outlook, meaning it could again upgrade the country.
CONSUMER GOODS
P&G’s revenue falls short
Procter & Gamble Co, the world’s largest consumer-products maker, posted first-quarter revenue that trailed analysts’ estimates after sales volumes fell in all of its product categories. Sales fell 12 percent to US$16.5 billion, P&G reported on Friday. That missed the US$17 billion average projection of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
TELECOMS
Ericsson misses Q3 estimate
Ericsson AB reported third-quarter profitability and sales that missed analysts’ estimates as business in Japan, Russia and Brazil slumped and spending slowed in China on 4G networks that power smartphones and tablets. The gross margin was 34.5 percent excluding some items, the network-equipment maker said on Friday. Sales rose about 3 percent to 59.2 billion kronor (US$7 billion), missing the average estimate of 60.7 billion kronor.
Semiconductor shares in China surged yesterday after Reuters reported the US had ordered chipmaking giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to halt shipments of advanced chips to Chinese customers, which investors believe could accelerate Beijing’s self-reliance efforts. TSMC yesterday started to suspend shipments of certain sophisticated chips to some Chinese clients after receiving a letter from the US Department of Commerce imposing export restrictions on those products, Reuters reported on Sunday, citing an unnamed source. The US imposed export restrictions on TSMC’s 7-nanometer or more advanced designs, Reuters reported. Investors figured that would encourage authorities to support China’s industry and bought shares
TECH WAR CONTINUES: The suspension of TSMC AI chips and GPUs would be a heavy blow to China’s chip designers and would affect its competitive edge Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, is reportedly to halt supply of artificial intelligence (AI) chips and graphics processing units (GPUs) made on 7-nanometer or more advanced process technologies from next week in order to comply with US Department of Commerce rules. TSMC has sent e-mails to its Chinese AI customers, informing them about the suspension starting on Monday, Chinese online news outlet Ijiwei.com (愛集微) reported yesterday. The US Department of Commerce has not formally unveiled further semiconductor measures against China yet. “TSMC does not comment on market rumors. TSMC is a law-abiding company and we are
FLEXIBLE: Taiwan can develop its own ground station equipment, and has highly competitive manufacturers and suppliers with diversified production, the MOEA said The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) yesterday disputed reports that suppliers to US-based Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) had been asked to move production out of Taiwan. Reuters had reported on Tuesday last week that Elon Musk-owned SpaceX had asked their manufacturers to produce outside of Taiwan given geopolitical risks and that at least one Taiwanese supplier had been pushed to relocate production to Vietnam. SpaceX’s requests place a renewed focus on the contentious relationship Musk has had with Taiwan, especially after he said last year that Taiwan is an “integral part” of China, sparking sharp criticism from Taiwanese authorities. The ministry said
US President Joe Biden’s administration is racing to complete CHIPS and Science Act agreements with companies such as Intel Corp and Samsung Electronics Co, aiming to shore up one of its signature initiatives before US president-elect Donald Trump enters the White House. The US Department of Commerce has allocated more than 90 percent of the US$39 billion in grants under the act, a landmark law enacted in 2022 designed to rebuild the domestic chip industry. However, the agency has only announced one binding agreement so far. The next two months would prove critical for more than 20 companies still in the process