SOUTH KOREA
Graduate jobless rate rises
South Korea’s unemployment rate rose to a six-year high last month, as more college graduates failed to land jobs amid slowing economic growth. Distortions from the Lunar New Year holiday were also a seasonal factor behind the rise. The seasonally adjusted jobless rate climbed to 4.1 percent last month, the highest since February 2010, Statistics Korea said yesterday. The agency said the youth unemployment rate for those aged 15 to 29 was 12.5 percent, the highest on record, with college graduates rushing to join the workforce after graduation.
BEVERAGES
Bacardi seeks Cuba reversal
Bacardi on Tuesday said it has asked a US federal judge to reverse a decision granting Cuba US trademark rights for Havana Club rum. Privately held, Bermuda-based Bacardi said it is the sole owner of Havana Club, which it has been selling in the US since the mid-1990s. French spirits and wine company Pernod Ricard sells its Havana Club rum in Cuba and a number of markets, notably Germany, France, Britain and Canada, but not the US.
AVIATION
Boeing shuffles leaders
Boeing Co reorganized leadership in its commercial airplane division as the company cuts costs and slows production of the 747 jumbo jet. Elizabeth Lund, general manager of the 777 program, will also oversee a combined operation for the 747 and 767 aircraft, Ray Conner, head of the commercial unit, said on Tuesday in a memo to employees. The general managers of the 747 and 767 programs are to assume new roles reporting to Lund. Boeing announced in January that it would trim production of the 747 to six aircraft a year starting in September.
TECHNOLOGY
Cloud services raise profits
Oracle Corp’s quarterly profit surpassed estimates as customers signed up for more cloud-based services. Profit excluding certain items was US$0.64 a share in the period that ended on Feb. 29, the Redwood City, California-based company said on Tuesday. Revenue including some adjustments fell 3.4 percent to US$9.01 billion during the fiscal third quarter from a year earlier. Sales of key cloud products grew 57 percent to US$583 million, a bright spot compared with sagging revenue in other services, the company said.
INTERNET
Amazon under investigation
Amazon.com Inc is under investigation in Italy for alleged tax evasion, Amazon chief for Italy and Spain Francois Nuyts said in an interview on Tuesday. The Seattle-based online retailer is cooperating with the probe, Nuyts said. “Amazon pays all applicable taxes in every jurisdiction where we operate, including Italy, and we are cooperating fully with the Italian authorities,” Nuyts said when asked about legal and tax issues.
? PHARMACEUTICALS
Valeant takes a 50% plunge
Canadian drugmaker Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc’s share price plunged nearly 50 percent on Tuesday after it warned it was at risk of a debt default and slashed its earnings forecast. Valeant, already under fire for its pricing and accounting practices, said in a securities filing that bondholders can deliver a notice of default if the drugmaker fails to submit its annual 10-K report to the US Securities and Exchange Commission within 60 days. The 10-K report was due on Tuesday, but a filing within 60 days would “cure the default,” Valeant said.
US SANCTIONS: The Taiwan tech giant has ended all shipments to China-based Sophgo Technologies after one of their chips was discovered in a Huawei phone Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) suspended shipments to China-based chip designer Sophgo Technologies Ltd (算能科技) after a chip it made was found on a Huawei Technologies Co (華為) artificial intelligence (AI) processor, according to two people familiar with the matter. Sophgo had ordered chips from TSMC that matched the one found on Huawei’s Ascend 910B, the people said. Huawei is restricted from buying the technology to protect US national security. Reuters could not determine how the chip ended up on the Huawei product. Sophgo said in a statement on its Web site yesterday that it was in compliance with all laws
SPEED OF LIGHT: US lawmakers urged the commerce department to examine the national security threats from China’s development of silicon photonics technology US President Joe Biden’s administration on Monday said it is finalizing rules that would limit US investments in artificial intelligence (AI) and other technology sectors in China that could threaten US national security. The rules, which were proposed in June by the US Department of the Treasury, were directed by an executive order signed by Biden in August last year covering three key sectors: semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum information technologies and certain AI systems. The rules are to take effect on Jan. 2 next year and would be overseen by the Treasury’s newly created Office of Global Transactions. The Treasury said the “narrow
TECH TITANS: Nvidia briefly overtook Apple again on Friday after becoming the world’s largest company for a short period in June, as Microsoft fell to third place Nvidia Corp dethroned Apple Inc as the world’s most valuable company on Friday following a record-setting rally in the stock, powered by insatiable demand for its specialized artificial intelligence (AI) chips. Nvidia’s stock market value briefly touched US$3.53 trillion, slightly above Apple’s US$3.52 trillion, London Stock Exchange Group data showed. Nvidia ended the day up 0.8 percent, with a market value of US$3.47 trillion, while Apple’s shares rose 0.4 percent, valuing the iPhone maker at US$3.52 trillion. In June, Nvidia briefly became the world’s most valuable company before it was overtaken by Microsoft Corp and Apple. The tech trio’s market capitalizations have been
Two scoops of pistachio, one of corruption. For years holidaymakers have guzzled Sicilian gelato at famous parlors in Palermo, unaware that the booming businesses were controlled by organized crime. The fraud was a textbook case for detectives trained to sniff out dirty money, but even with three mobster classics — a suspicious bankruptcy, a front man and a scheming “Godfather” — it took years for investigators to shut the operation down. The Brioscia brand, made up of two ice cream parlors, was thriving at the end of the 2010s, attracting locals and foreign visitors alike with its glittering gold stars on travel