LABOR
Government sues Palantir
The US Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit accusing a fast-growing Silicon Valley software company of systematically discriminating against Asian job applicants. Palantir Technologies was cofounded by prominent tech financier Peter Thiel, with backing from an investment arm of the CIA, and was recently valued at US$20 billion. The privately held company makes powerful data-analytics software used by US military, intelligence and law enforcement agencies, along with banks, insurance firms and other non-government clients. The unusual lawsuit claims Palantir “routinely eliminated” Asian job candidates during the resume-screening and telephone-interview stages of the firm’s hiring process. The claims are based on a statistical analysis conducted by federal officials responsible for making sure government contractors comply with anti-discrimination rules.
ENERGY
Westar sale approved
Stockholders on Monday approved the US$12.2 billion sale of Topeka-based electric firm Westar Energy to Missouri-based Great Plains Energy, the two firms announced on Monday. Westar is Kansas’ largest electric company, and after the acquisition, Great Plains would serve more than 1.5 million customers in the two states. The two companies said that combining operations would result in US$200 million in annual savings after three years, keeping rates in check. Great Plains said 81 percent of its shareholders participated in the vote, with 95 percent approving the sale. Westar said 63 percent of its shareholders voted, with 96 percent approving it.
BANKING
Bank of America to cut jobs
Bank of America is to lay off 20 senior investment bankers in Asia due to slowing activity in the region, a person familiar with the matter said on Monday. Goldman Sachs is also cutting staff in the Asian region due to a slump in deal-making, according to published reports on Monday. Bank of America employees affected by the layoffs work in Singapore, Japan and Hong Kong, a person familiar with the move said. The plans are still being finalized, including the exact number of workers affected. Bank of America also cut about 150 investment bankers in the region in March. Goldman plans to lay off more than 25 percent of 300 investment bankers in the region, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Goldman staff will be cut in Hong Kong and Singapore, but workers in Japan will be spared, the report said. Officials with Bank of America and Goldman Sachs declined comment.
TECHNOLOGY
Walt Disney eyeing Twitter
Walt Disney Co is working with a financial adviser to evaluate a possible bid for Twitter Inc, according to people familiar with the matter. After receiving interest in discussing a deal, Twitter has started a process to evaluate a potential sale. Salesforce.com Inc is also considering a bid and is working with Bank of America on the process, according to other people, who asked not to be named because the matter is private. Representatives for Twitter and Disney did not respond to requests for comment. Speculation that Twitter will be sold has been gathering steam in recent months, including last week’s news of Salesforce’s interest, given the social-media company’s slumping stock and difficulties in attracting new users and advertising revenue. Disney, the owner of ABC and ESPN, could obtain a new online outlet for entertainment, sports and news. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey is on the board of Disney.
HORMUZ ISSUE: The US president said he expected crude prices to drop at the end of the war, which he called a ‘minor excursion’ that could continue ‘for a little while’ The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Kuwait started reducing oil production, as the near-closure of the crucial Strait of Hormuz ripples through energy markets and affects global supply. Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) is “managing offshore production levels to address storage requirements,” the company said in a statement, without giving details. Kuwait Petroleum Corp said it was lowering production at its oil fields and refineries after “Iranian threats against safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz.” The war in the Middle East has all but closed Hormuz, the narrow waterway linking the Persian Gulf to the open seas,
Apple Inc increased iPhone production in India by about 53 percent last year and now makes a quarter of its marquee devices there, reflecting the US company’s efforts to avoid tariffs on China. The company assembled about 55 million iPhones in India last year, up from 36 million a year earlier, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be named because the numbers aren’t public. Apple makes about 220 million to 230 million iPhones a year globally, with India’s share of the total increasing rapidly. Apple has accelerated its expansion in the world’s most populous country in recent years, bolstered
HEADWINDS: The company said it expects its computer business, as well as consumer electronics and communications segments to see revenue declines due to seasonality Pegatron Corp (和碩) yesterday said it aims to grow its artificial intelligence (AI) server revenue more than 10-fold this year from last year, driven by orders from neocloud solutions clients and large cloud service providers. The electronics manufacturing service provider said AI server revenue growth would be driven primarily by the Nvidia Corp GB300 server platform. Server shipments are expected to increase each quarter this year, with the second half likely to outperform the first half, it said. The AI server market is expected to broaden this year as more inference applications emerge, which would drive demand for system-on-chip, application-specific integrated circuits
PROJECTION: TSMC said it expects strong growth this year, with revenue in US dollars projected to grow by about 30 percent, outperforming the industry Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday reported consolidated sales last month reached NT$317.66 billion (US$9.98 billion), the highest ever for the month of February, driven by robust demand for chips built using the company’s advanced 3-nanometer (3nm) process. Last month’s figure was up 22.2 percent from a year earlier, but fell 20.8 percent from January, the world’s largest contract chipmaker said in a statement. For the first two months of the year, TSMC posted cumulative sales of NT$718.91 billion, up 29.9 percent from a year earlier. Analysts attributed the growth to sustained global demand for artificial intelligence (AI) products
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