UNITED STATES
Q2 growth looking grim
The economy slowed less than initially thought in the first quarter, but softening business investment and moderate consumer spending are clouding expectations of a sharp acceleration in the second quarter. GDP increased at a 1.2 percent annual rate instead of the 0.7 percent pace reported last month, the Department of Commerce said on Friday in its second GDP estimate for the first three months of the year. That was the worst performance in a year and followed a 2.1 percent growth rate in the fourth quarter last year. The first-quarter weakness is a blow to President Donald Trump’s ambitious goal to sharply boost economic growth.
TRANSPORTATION
UPS ordered to pay NY
A US judge ordered the shipping giant UPS International Inc to pay US$247 million to the New York state and city governments for shipments of cigarettes that illegally evaded taxes. Federal District Court Judge Katherine Forrest found UPS “liable in each claim” and therefore the city and state “are entitled to compensatory damages and penalties,” court documents said. The judge ordered the company to pay US$166 million to the state and US$81 million to the city. The two plaintiffs claimed about US$872 million in damages. UPS said it was “extremely disappointed in the court’s ruling and imposed penalties and we will vigorously appeal the decision.”
SECURITY
Alleged hacker to appeal
A Canadian man accused in a massive hack of Yahoo Inc e-mails said he would appeal a judge’s decision to deny him bail. Karim Baratov on Friday made a brief court appearance in Toronto with his lawyer, Amedeo DiCarlo. Ontario Superior Court Justice Alan Whitten last month said that the 22-year-old Baratov is too much of a flight risk because of his easy access to money and his ability to ply his alleged trade from anywhere in the world. Baratov was arrested last month and faces extradition to the US. The 2014 breach at Yahoo affected at least 500 million user accounts. Baratov’s bail review is set for June 5.
PHARMACEUTICALS
Sun says sales could drop
Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, India’s largest drugmaker, warned investors that sales could decline next year amid downward pressure on generic-drug prices in the US and regulatory issues at one of its biggest factories. Revenue fell 6.6 percent to 71.4 billion rupees (US$1.11 billion) in the three month period that ended on March 31 from the same period last year. The slide could continue and result in a “single digit” percentage decline in annual sales next year, Dilip Shanghvi, the company’s founder and managing director, said on a conference call with analysts.
AUTOMAKERS
Faulty doors trigger recall
BMW AG is recalling more than 45,000 older 7-Series cars in the US because the doors can open unexpectedly while they are being driven. The recall covers certain 745i, 745Li, 750i, 750Li, 760i, 760Li and B7 Alpina cars from the model years from 2005 to 2008 that have the comfort access and soft door close options. The company said the doors might appear to be closed and latched, but can inadvertently open due to road conditions or occupant contact with the door.
Gudeng Precision Industrial Co (家登精密), the sole extreme ultraviolet pod supplier to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), yesterday said it has trimmed its revenue growth target for this year as US tariffs are likely to depress customer demand and weigh on the whole supply chain. Gudeng’s remarks came after the US on Monday notified 14 countries, including Japan and South Korea, of new tariff rates that are set to take effect on Aug. 1. Taiwan is still negotiating for a rate lower than the 32 percent “reciprocal” tariffs announced by the US in April, which it later postponed to today. The
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday said its materials management head, Vanessa Lee (李文如), had tendered her resignation for personal reasons. The personnel adjustment takes effect tomorrow, TSMC said in a statement. The latest development came one month after Lee reportedly took leave from the middle of last month. Cliff Hou (侯永清), senior vice president and deputy cochief operating officer, is to concurrently take on the role of head of the materials management division, which has been under his supervision, TSMC said. Lee, who joined TSMC in 2022, was appointed senior director of materials management and
MAJOR CONTRIBUTOR: Revenue from AI servers made up more than 50 percent of Wistron’s total server revenue in the second quarter, the company said Wistron Corp (緯創) on Tuesday reported a 135.6 percent year-on-year surge in revenue for last month, driven by strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) servers, with the momentum expected to extend into the third quarter. Revenue last month reached NT$209.18 billion (US$7.2 billion), a record high for June, bringing second-quarter revenue to NT$551.29 billion, a 129.47 percent annual increase, the company said. Revenue in the first half of the year totaled NT$897.77 billion, up 87.36 percent from a year earlier and also a record high for the period, it said. The company remains cautiously optimistic about AI server shipments in the third quarter,
STABLE RESULTS: Despite June’s lower consolidated revenue, second-quarter sales still reached a record high, driven by demand for chips for AI applications Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday reported consolidated sales of NT$263.71 billion (US$9.02 billion) for last month, its second-lowest monthly result this year. The world’s largest contract chipmaker said in a statement that its revenue last month only fared better than the NT$260.01 billion posted in February. Last month’s figure rose 26.9 percent from a year earlier, but slumped 17.7 percent from May, the company said. However, second-quarter revenue reached NT$933.8 billion, a record high for a single quarter, company data showed. The figure represented growth of 11.26 percent from the first quarter and 38.6 percent from a year earlier. Previously, TSMC said that
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