PHARMACEUTICALS
Mylan to settle for US$465m
Mylan NV is to pay US$465 million to settle allegations that it overbilled the US Medicaid program for its life-saving EpiPen allergy injection. The US government said EpiPen is a branded drug, which means Mylan should have been paying it a far higher rebate under the government’s complex pricing rules. Mylan on Friday said the proposed settlement resolves all potential federal and state government claims. It also finds no wrongdoing on the part of the UK-based company.
UNITED STATES
Job growth misses forecast
The economy added a weaker-than-expected 156,000 jobs last month after strong job creation in the summer months, according to Department of Labor data released on Friday. The unemployment rate, closely watched by monetary policymakers, also nudged upward by 0.1 percentage points to 5 percent, with 7.9 million people counted as unemployed. The labor force participation rate also changed little, moving up 0.1 percentage points to 62.9 percent.
GERMANY
Growth to slow after spike
The economy is to grow faster than expected this year before slowing next year and in 2018, the government said on Friday, as pressure mounts for Europe’s top economy to invest more. GDP is to increase by 1.8 percent this year before slowing to 1.4 percent growth next year and 1.6 percent in 2018, Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Sigmar Gabriel said.
BANKING
UK to sell stake in Lloyds
The British government is to restart selling down its ￡3.6 billion (US$4.48 billion) stake in Lloyds Banking Group PLC, the body set up to manage the process said on Friday, after it was delayed following the vote to leave the EU. UK Financial Investments Ltd, which manages the government’s stakes in the banks, said it has recommended scrapping plans to sell the remaining stake via a discounted public sell-off. The government owns about 6.5 billion ordinary shares in Lloyds, which represents about 9 percent of the bank’s shares.
INTERNET
Facebook releases Events
Facebook Inc on Friday released a mobile app for finding local happenings to enjoy with friends. The Events app tailored for iPhones hit Apple Inc’s App Store, with a version “coming soon” for smartphones powered by Google-backed Android software, Facebook product manager Aditya Koolwal said in an online post. The Events app lets people browse for happenings based on factors such as location or interest, and to explore potential outing options with the help of interactive maps.
BANKING
Workers to end bank strike
Brazilian bank workers have returned to their jobs, ending the longest nationwide strike of its kind in 12 years. The National Confederation of Bank Workers said that workers at private banks and state-run Banco do Brasil SA on Thursday night agreed to return to work after accepting the National Banking Federation’s proposal of an 8 percent wage increase and a bonus of about US$1,100. However, workers at state-run Caixa Economica Federal refused the offer and are to remain on strike.
POOR INTERNAL CONTROLS: Insurance Bureau Director-General Shih Chiung-hwa said the company is expected to get back on track while its chairman is suspended The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) yesterday fined Shin Kong Life Insurance Co (新光人壽) NT$27.6 million (US$939,415) for a reckless investment that endangered its solvency, and suspended its chairman Eugene Wu (吳東進) for poor supervision. The penalty is the second-highest in a single case after Nan Shan Life Insurance Co (南山人壽) was fined NT$30 million in September last year and its chairman Du Ying-tzyong (杜英宗) suspended for two years, the commission said. In three rounds of special and regular examinations conducted since last year, the commission found that Shin Kong Life had given too much power to an asset and liability management committee
HEAVY INVESTMENT: Moody’s affirmed the firm’s ‘Aa3’ rating with a ‘stable’ outlook due to its leading position in the industry and ability to match customer requirements Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) revenue this year is expected to increase about 21 percent to NT$1.29 trillion (US$44.01 billion) from NT$1.07 trillion last year, driven by strong demand for advanced 5-nanometer and 7-nanometer chips mainly used in smartphones and high-performance computing devices, a Moody’s Investors Service report on Wednesday said. TSMC’s rate of revenue growth next year is to increase to 7.5 percent, the ratings agency said. The company, which supplies 5-nanometer chips for Apple Inc’s new iPad series, has introduced the advanced chips ahead of its competitors and gained a significant share of the market for the foundry industry’s
Sony Corp has cut its estimated Play Station 5 (PS5) production for this fiscal year by 4 million units, down to about 11 million, following production issues with its custom-designed system-on-chip (SOC) for the new console, people familiar with the matter said. The Tokyo-based electronics giant in July boosted orders with suppliers in anticipation of heightened demand for gaming in the holiday season and beyond, as people spend more time at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the company has come up against manufacturing issues, such as production yields as low as 50 percent for its SOC, which have cut into
O2O BICYCLE SHOW: The Taiwan Bicycle Show next year is to be online to offline, with forums, audio-visual conferences and livestreaming of the offline events Local bicycle makers expect demand to continue outpacing supply due to orders triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, with some companies seeing orders back up through next year. “Next year is all full in terms of orders. Our lead time on components is one year,” Giant Manufacturing Co Ltd (巨大機械) chairwoman Bonnie Tu (杜綉珍) told a news conference in Taipei organized by the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) to announce next year’s Taipei Cycle Show. The pandemic has reduced bicycle supplies and increased demand around the world, Robert Wu (吳盈進), chairman of KMC (Kuei Meng) International Inc (桂盟國際), one of the world’s
RSS