MACROECONOMICS
Puerto Rico misses deadline
Puerto Rico failed to submit audited financial statements for fiscal 2014 by its self-imposed Saturday deadline, according to a US Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board filing. The commonwealth’s annual report for the fiscal year ended June 30 last year was 181 days late, the longest that Puerto Rico has been overdue on its yearly audited statements since at least 2000, according to Daniel Hanson, an analyst at Height Securities, a broker dealer based in Washington. The commonwealth is tardy because certain agencies have yet to submit reports and an independent auditor is conducting additional procedures given Puerto Rico’s liquidity risk, according to the filing posted late on Friday on the board’s Web site. The commonwealth’s economy has struggled to grow since 2006. It’s seeking to reduce its US$73 billion debt load by negotiating with investors.
UNITED STATES
BP halts appeals process
BP has decided to end its effort to recoup money it paid in economic damage claims to businesses and individuals under a settlement arising from the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill stemming from a well blowout and the sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig. BP on Friday filed a motion to withdraw an appeal over what it said were overpayments worth hundreds of millions of dollars and involving more than 790 businesses. The appeal was before the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. After a 2012 settlement with businesses and individuals was approved, BP said that the claims administrator had not been correctly matching business’ revenues and expenses, resulting in overpayments. A court eventually ordered a new calculation method, but refused to order restitution of payments already made. Geoff Morrell, a BP spokesman, said the firm decided to withdraw its appeal to help “wind down” the claims program.
AUTOMAKERS
Honda recalls some SUVs
American Honda Motor Co is recalling some 2016 CR-V SUVs to replace Takata air bags that could rupture in a crash and send metal fragments flying. The recall affects just 515 of the small sport utility vehicles, and Honda said only 30 were sold before dealers were told to stop sales. US officials last month said that eight people have died and 98 others have been injured by air bag inflators that explode with too much force, sending shrapnel into car occupants. Recalls have covered about 19 million cars made by 12 different car and truck manufacturers. The company late on Friday said that the defect covered by the new recall appears to be different from previous defects, but that it could still result in metal fragments hitting the driver or passengers.
ROMANIA
Oldest coal mine closes
The oldest coal mine in Romania and until now the deepest in Europe, with shafts going down as far as 940m, closed on Friday, ending production at what was once a proud symbol of the country’s coal industry. The Petrila mine opened in 1859 when the country was still part of the Austro-Hungarian empire. It hit peak production in 1983 when workers extracted 1.2 million tonnes of coal — falling to just 110,000 tonnes last year. Romania committed itself four years ago to ending state subsidies for coal production and turning instead to greener energy sources. Petrila pit’s equipment, including a giant Siemens motor that has been running since 1945, is scheduled be sold for scrap metal next year and most of its buildings demolished.
INTERGRATION: Jensen Huang said that every Nvidia department and function of the company should be using AI, after reportedly saying staff were ‘insane’ not to Nvidia Corp is in a “unique” position in the market, despite facing intensifying competition, chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said during a brief visit to Taiwan yesterday amid a potentially growing challenge from Google for the artificial intelligence (AI) chip market. Huang told reporters that the AI market is “extremely large” and that while there is a lot of competition, Nvidia’s “condition is very strong and our position is very unique.” Huang, who arrived in Taipei on Thursday, was responding to questions about the possible threat posed by Google. According to a report in The Information on Tuesday, Meta has been in
Charming US President Donald Trump one week, angering China the next, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has had a busy start and is riding high in the polls, all on a few hours of sleep a night. However, the honeymoon might end soon for the Margaret Thatcher-admiring leader if a spat with China escalates further and she fails to keep inflation in check. “I believe Prime Minister Takaichi will surely do what she needs to do, so I trust her,” Kozue Otsuka, 50, told reporters at a festival this week for business owners seeking good fortune. While buying a lucky kumade rake featuring
INSULATED: The company said it is less exposed to global complications, as it has built a strong footprint worldwide, and has multiple sources of rare earths and raw minerals Merck Group yesterday said it would ramp up production next year at its new flagship facility in Kaohsiung’s Lujhu District (路竹) to satisfy growing demand for advanced semiconductor materials and specialty gases, and to address supply resilience issues amid mounting geopolitical risks. Merck made the remarks during a news conference before the inauguration of its 500 million euros (US$582.1 million) facility, which is also to supply other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, it said. Merck executive board deputy chair and electronics CEO Kai Beckmann told reporters the company adopted a “local-for-local” strategy about seven years ago to address the cycle time of
RIDING THE WAVE: The race to build AI infrastructure has lifted the valuations of top memory makers, such as Micron, amid dwindling inventories and supply challenges Micron Technology Inc is to spend ￥1.5 trillion (US$9.6 billion) to build a plant in western Japan to make memory chips for artificial intelligence (AI) applications, the Nikkei reported on Saturday. The move comes as Micron seeks to diversify advanced chip production outside of Taiwan, the Nikkei article said, citing people familiar with the matter. The new factory will manufacture high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, a key component for working with AI processors such as those made by Nvidia Corp, the report said. Micron would build the facility within the compound of its Hiroshima plant, starting in May next year, with plans to launch
RSS