UNITED STATES
Fed backs hikes prediction
Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer said policymakers’ forecasts predicting four interest-rate increases this year were “in the ballpark,” though China’s slowing economy and other sources of uncertainty make it difficult to predict the path of policy. “The reason we meet eight times a year is because things happen, and as they happen you want to adjust your policy,” Fischer said on Wednesday in an interview on CNBC. His remarks came three weeks after the Fed raised interest rates for the first time in almost a decade. Federal Open Market Committee members’ median estimate put the benchmark federal funds rate at the end of the year at 1.4 percent.
AGRICULTURE
Monsanto to cut more jobs
Monsanto Co on Wednesday said it would eliminate another 1,000 jobs as it expands a cost-cutting plan designed to deal with falling sales of biotech-corn seeds and other financial headwinds. The additional layoffs would bring the agriculture giant’s total planned cuts to 3,600 jobs over the next two years, or about 16 percent of its global workforce. In October last year, the company first announced the restructuring plan, intended to streamline its sales, research and development and other operations. The St Louis, Missouri-based company said the restructuring will cost between US$1.1 billion and US$1.2 billion to implement, an increase from previous estimates of US$850 million to US$900 million.
INDIA
Ministry mulls bank sale
The Ministry of Finance is considering a plan to sell part or all of its stake in Axis Bank Ltd, valued at US$1.7 billion, to bolster its efforts to narrow the nation’s fiscal deficit, people familiar with the matter said. The government might pare the 11.59 percent stake it holds in Axis Bank through the Specified Undertaking of the Unit Trust of India as it seeks to meet an asset sale target of 695 billion rupees (US$10.4 billion) for the year ending March 31, the people said, asking not to be identified as a final decision had not been taken. Ministry spokesman D.S. Malik could not be reached for comment.
AVIATION
BOC orders A320s
Singapore-based aircraft leasing firm BOC Aviation Ptd Ltd (中銀航空租賃) yesterday said it has ordered 30 Airbus A320s worth more than US$3 billion at list prices to meet growing demand. The order, made at the end of last month, comprises 18 A320s equipped with new engines and 12 A320s using the current engines, the company said in a statement. At last year’s catalogue prices, each re-engined A320 costs US$106.2 million and a standard A320 is worth US$97 million, according to the Airbus Web site.
TECHNOLOGY
Microchip mulling offer
Microchip Technology Inc is reconsidering its interest in Atmel Corp after Atmel’s business struggled in the fourth quarter, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. Atmel, based in San Jose, California, received an unsolicited offer from an unnamed buyer last month, according to a statement at the time. That suitor was Microchip and it is rethinking its current US$9-a-share offer, which values Atmel at about US$3.8 billion, the person said. Microchip had not made a final decision, and the offer might still go ahead as planned, they said.
China’s economic planning agency yesterday outlined details of measures aimed at boosting the economy, but refrained from major spending initiatives. The piecemeal nature of the plans announced yesterday appeared to disappoint investors who were hoping for bolder moves, and the Shanghai Composite Index gave up a 10 percent initial gain as markets reopened after a weeklong holiday to end 4.59 percent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dived 9.41 percent. Chinese National Development and Reform Commission Chairman Zheng Shanjie (鄭珊潔) said the government would frontload 100 billion yuan (US$14.2 billion) in spending from the government’s budget for next year in addition
Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) suffered its biggest stock decline in more than a month after the company unveiled new artificial intelligence (AI) chips, but did not provide hoped-for information on customers or financial performance. The stock slid 4 percent to US$164.18 on Thursday, the biggest single-day drop since Sept. 3. Shares of the company remain up 11 percent this year. AMD has emerged as the biggest contender to Nvidia Corp in the lucrative market of AI processors. The company’s latest chips would exceed some capabilities of its rival, AMD chief executive officer Lisa Su (蘇姿丰) said at an event hosted by
AVIATION: Despite production issues in the US, the Taoyuan-based airline expects to receive 24 passenger planes on schedule, while one freight plane is delayed The ongoing strike at Boeing Co has had only a minor impact on China Airlines Ltd (CAL, 中華航空), although the delivery of a new cargo jet might be postponed, CAL chairman Hsieh Su-chien (謝世謙) said on Saturday. The 24 Boeing 787-9 passenger aircraft on order would be delivered on schedule from next year to 2028, while one 777F freight aircraft would be delayed, Hsieh told reporters at a company event. Boeing, which announced a decision on Friday to cut 17,000 jobs — about one-tenth of its workforce — is facing a strike by 33,000 US west coast workers that has halted production
TECH JUGGERNAUT: TSMC shares have more than doubled since ChatGPT’s launch in late 2022, as demand for cutting-edge artificial intelligence chips remains high Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday posted a better-than-expected 39 percent rise in quarterly revenue, assuaging concerns that artificial intelligence (AI) hardware spending is beginning to taper off. The main chipmaker for Nvidia Corp and Apple Inc reported third-quarter sales of NT$759.69 billion (US$23.6 billion), compared with the average analyst projection of NT$748 billion. For last month alone, TSMC reported revenue jumped 39.6 percent year-on-year to NT$251.87 billion. Taiwan’s largest company is to disclose its full third-quarter earnings on Thursday next week and update its outlook. Hsinchu-based TSMC produces the cutting-edge chips needed to train AI. The company now makes more
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