STEEL
Jobs at risk in ILVA buy
A consortium led by global steel giant ArcelorMittal SA on Friday said the Italian authorities had cleared it to buy struggling steel producer ILVA, but thousands of jobs are threatened. The 1.8 billion euro (US$2.02 billion) deal would see ArcelorMittal join forces with Italy’s Marcegaglia to snap up the heavily indebted company, one of the most polluting industrial sites in Europe. ILVA has 14,000 employees, of whom 11,000 work at its site in Tarente. In a statement, ArcelorMittal said it would undertake “to keep at least 10,000 employees for the entire duration of the industrial plan according to the outcome of negotiations with the unions.”
SPAIN
Banks may return only 28%
The nation might only retrieve 28 percent of the multi-billion-euro aid granted to banks, the central bank said on Friday, despite past government pledges that it would not cost “one euro” to the taxpayer. In total, more than a dozen Spanish banks received 76.14 billion euros in capital injections and financial guarantees as the sector struggled under the weight of the worldwide financial crisis and property bubble burst in 2008. The capital injections were implemented via FROB, the state’s bank restructuring fund, which injected 54.35 billion euros. However, 39.5 billion euros might never be paid back, the central bank said.
CANADA
‘Bail-in’ may be extended
The Department of Finance on Friday proposed new rules limiting government support for potential bailouts of the nation’s banks, extending a so-called “bail-in regime” promised last year. The government in April last year introduced in its budget a plan to implement a bail-in regime for Canada’s “systemically important banks,” which would allow authorities to convert securities of a failing lender into common shares to recapitalize the bank and let it remain open and operating. The proposed rules set out key features of the regime, including which type of debt instruments would be subject to the regulations. The government is seeking public comment until July 17.
RUSSIA
Interest rate cut by 0.25%
The central bank on Friday cut its key interest rate by 25 basis points and pledged further cautious monetary policy easing this year against a slightly better economic outlook. It trimmed the key rate to 9 percent from 9.25 percent in its third consecutive cut this year. Presenting the decision, bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina said annual inflation had neared its long-awaited goal of 4 percent as inflationary expectations among households had fallen to an all-time low last month.
OIL
Exxon can drill in Guyana
Guyana has issued an operating license and environmental permit to ExxonMobil, which has said it made “significant” discoveries off the South American nation’s coast. Guyanese Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman said Exxon and partners Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd and CNOOC Nexen can now drill an area believed to contain at least 2 billion barrels of oil. He late on Thursday said that oil extraction is expected to start in 2020 at an initial rate of 100,000 barrels per day. ExxonMobil would receive a royalty of 2 percent on gross earnings and 50 percent of profits.
TECH PARTNERSHIP: The deal with Arizona-based Amkor would provide TSMC with advanced packing and test capacities, a requirement to serve US customers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is collaborating with Amkor Technology Inc to provide local advanced packaging and test capacities in Arizona to address customer requirements for geographical flexibility in chip manufacturing. As part of the agreement, TSMC, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, would contract turnkey advanced packaging and test services from Amkor at their planned facility in Peoria, Arizona, a joint statement released yesterday said. TSMC would leverage these services to support its customers, particularly those using TSMC’s advanced wafer fabrication facilities in Phoenix, Arizona, it said. The companies would jointly define the specific packaging technologies, such as TSMC’s Integrated
China’s economic planning agency yesterday outlined details of measures aimed at boosting the economy, but refrained from major spending initiatives. The piecemeal nature of the plans announced yesterday appeared to disappoint investors who were hoping for bolder moves, and the Shanghai Composite Index gave up a 10 percent initial gain as markets reopened after a weeklong holiday to end 4.59 percent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dived 9.41 percent. Chinese National Development and Reform Commission Chairman Zheng Shanjie (鄭珊潔) said the government would frontload 100 billion yuan (US$14.2 billion) in spending from the government’s budget for next year in addition
Sales RecORD: Hon Hai’s consolidated sales rose by about 20 percent last quarter, while Largan, another Apple supplier, saw quarterly sales increase by 17 percent IPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) on Saturday reported its highest-ever quarterly sales for the third quarter on the back of solid global demand for artificial intelligence (AI) servers. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) globally, said it posted NT$1.85 trillion (US$57.93 billion) in consolidated sales in the July-to-September quarter, up 19.46 percent from the previous quarter and up 20.15 percent from a year earlier. The figure beat the previous third-quarter high of NT$1.74 trillion recorded in 2022, company data showed. Due to rising demand for AI, Hon Hai said its cloud and networking division enjoyed strong sales
Protectionism: US trade chief Katherine Tai said the hikes would help to counter unfair trade practices from China, while boosting domestic clean energy investments US Trade Representative Katherine Tai (戴琪) defended stiff tariff hikes against countries such as China, saying that paired with investment, they were a “legitimate and constructive” tool for reinvigorating domestic industries. Tai’s comments come a week after sharp tariff increases on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs), EV batteries and solar cells took effect — with levies down the line on other products also recently finalized. The latest moves targeting US$18 billion in Chinese goods come weeks before next month’s US presidential election, with Democrats and Republicans pushing a hard line on China as competition between Washington and Beijing intensifies. In an interview on Thursday
RSS