FINANCE
G7 to target tax evasion
Finance ministers from seven rich countries yesterday were wrapping up work on efforts to make growth more inclusive and to fight tax evasion, terror financing and cybercrime. G7 officials are also taking the opportunity to hear more about the US President Donald Trump administration’s economic proposals from US Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin. Italy, the host nation for the informal forum this year, wants the meeting to produce separate statements about fairer growth and fighting tax evasion. The gathering in a 13th-century seaside fortress in the southern Italian town of Bari is paving the way for a meeting of national leaders in Taormina, Sicily, on May 26 and 27.
MEDIA
Pandora CTO resigns
Pandora Media Inc said its chief technology officer (CTO) Chris Martin is stepping down, just weeks after the online radio company introduced a new service to lure new users and fend off growing rivals, such as Spotify Ltd. Martin “has decided to move on,” the company said on Friday in an e-mailed statement. He had been with Pandora since 2004. Pandora, based in Oakland, California, is counting on its new on-demand music-streaming service, Pandora Premium, to help it reverse a streak of financial losses and a tumbling stock price. The company said this week it is shaking up its board and stepping up efforts to find a possible buyer.
BANKING
CIBC takeover bid approved
PrivateBancorp Inc shareholders approved a US$4.9-billion takeover by Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) after the Toronto-based lender sweetened its deal twice to win over investors. The majority of PrivateBancorp shareholders endorsed CIBC’s bid, the Chicago-based lender said on Friday in a statement. CIBC first proposed the acquisition on June 29 last year, and in its latest offer agreed to pay US$27.2 in cash and 0.4176 of a CIBC common share for each PrivateBancorp share.
EDUCATION
Aldo to open retail school
The founder of the Aldo shoe empire is donating C$25 million (US$18 million) to McGill University to help create a school of retail management at his alma mater. Aldo Bensadoun said in a statement on Friday the school is to provide a new generation of retailers with solutions for the industry’s transformation. He said success in retail depends on the integration of big data, artificial intelligence and neuroscience. The new Bensadoun School of Retail Management is to educate undergraduates to doctorate students. Aldo has more than 2,000 stores worldwide.
TECHNOLOGY
Globalstar in sales talks
Globalstar Inc, which won US approval to use its satellite airwaves for a mobile broadband service, is working with financial advisers on a potential sale, people familiar with the matter said. Shares climbed 15.2 percent to US$2.20 in New York at 1:35pm, giving the company a market value of about US$2.5 billion. Globalstar could attract interest from major wireless and cable companies, one of the people said, asking not to be identified as the details are not public. Deliberations are at an early stage and there is no certainty a deal can be reached, the people said.
SEMICONDUCTORS: The German laser and plasma generator company will expand its local services as its specialized offerings support Taiwan’s semiconductor industries Trumpf SE + Co KG, a global leader in supplying laser technology and plasma generators used in chip production, is expanding its investments in Taiwan in an effort to deeply integrate into the global semiconductor supply chain in the pursuit of growth. The company, headquartered in Ditzingen, Germany, has invested significantly in a newly inaugurated regional technical center for plasma generators in Taoyuan, its latest expansion in Taiwan after being engaged in various industries for more than 25 years. The center, the first of its kind Trumpf built outside Germany, aims to serve customers from Taiwan, Japan, Southeast Asia and South Korea,
Gasoline and diesel prices at domestic fuel stations are to fall NT$0.2 per liter this week, down for a second consecutive week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) announced yesterday. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to drop to NT$26.4, NT$27.9 and NT$29.9 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, the companies said in separate statements. The price of premium diesel is to fall to NT$24.8 per liter at CPC stations and NT$24.6 at Formosa pumps, they said. The price adjustments came even as international crude oil prices rose last week, as traders
SIZE MATTERS: TSMC started phasing out 8-inch wafer production last year, while Samsung is more aggressively retiring 8-inch capacity, TrendForce said Chipmakers are expected to raise prices of 8-inch wafers by up to 20 percent this year on concern over supply constraints as major contract chipmakers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and Samsung Electronics Co gradually retire less advanced wafer capacity, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. It is the first significant across-the-board price hike since a global semiconductor correction in 2023, the Taipei-based market researcher said in a report. Global 8-inch wafer capacity slid 0.3 percent year-on-year last year, although 8-inch wafer prices still hovered at relatively stable levels throughout the year, TrendForce said. The downward trend is expected to continue this year,
POWERING UP: PSUs for AI servers made up about 50% of Delta’s total server PSU revenue during the first three quarters of last year, the company said Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) reported record-high revenue of NT$161.61 billion (US$5.11 billion) for last quarter and said it remains positive about this quarter. Last quarter’s figure was up 7.6 percent from the previous quarter and 41.51 percent higher than a year earlier, and largely in line with Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co’s (元大投顧) forecast of NT$160 billion. Delta’s annual revenue last year rose 31.76 percent year-on-year to NT$554.89 billion, also a record high for the company. Its strong performance reflected continued demand for high-performance power solutions and advanced liquid-cooling products used in artificial intelligence (AI) data centers,
RSS