RETAILERS
Sears files for protection
Sears Canada on Thursday filed for court protection from creditors as the one-time retail giant seeks to adapt to a changed business landscape and tougher online competition. The company also announced that it was shutting 59 stores and laying off 2,900 staff at corporate headquarters in Toronto and across its retail network. Its revenues have dropped significantly in recent years as it cut 3,000 jobs — not including the latest round of layoffs — and closed half of its stores. Thursday’s announcement leaves it with fewer than 150 department stores, home stores and smaller retail outlets.
AIRLINES
Qatar Airways eyes purchase
State-owned Qatar Airways is attempting to buy 10 percent of American Airlines Group Inc, a surprising move that would trigger an antitrust review by the US government. American Airlines said in a regulatory filing on Thursday that the bid was unsolicited, but that the chief executive officers of both carriers had discussed the plan. American Airlines said that Qatar Airways initially intends to buy at least US$808 million in stock on the open market and eventually 10 percent of its stock, which would cost US$2.4 billion at the carrier’s midday stock price.
ELECTRONICS
Toshiba earnings delayed
Toshiba Corp yesterday again delayed the release of its long-overdue earnings, with the troubled conglomerate saying it needed more time to finish accounting work at its loss-hit US nuclear unit Westinghouse Electric Corp (WEC). Toshiba twice postponed nine-month earnings before it released unaudited results in April and last month warned that it likely lost ￥950 billion (US$8.6 million) in the fiscal year that ended in March. Yesterday, it slightly revised down its annual loss estimate to ￥995.2 billion. After markets closed, the Tokyo Stock Exchange said it would move Toshiba’s stock off its prestigious first section at the start of August, citing the company’s negative net worth last year.
AUTOMAKERS
Tesla considering music
Electric carmaker Tesla Inc on Thursday said it was considering ways to enter music streaming amid a report that it might launch a unique new service. The high-end automaker, which already has a tie-up with streaming leader Spotify Ltd in some international markets, said it was aiming at ways to please drivers. “We believe it’s important to have an exceptional in-car experience so our customers can listen to the music they want from whatever source they choose,” a Tesla spokesperson said. Technology news site Recode said that Tesla was discussing the creation of a service unique to the automaker that would be integrated into the cars, which are already connected to the Internet.
TELECOMS
Apple links to Virgin
Apple Inc is soon to start selling wireless plans from Virgin Mobile USA, the first new carrier offered by the iPhone makers since 2013, the companies said on Wednesday. Virgin Mobile USA struck the deal as part of a broader revamp of its business that will see it ditch Android phones in the coming years and become what it claims is the first iPhone-only network. The company will first be offered in Apple’s stores and then online. Apple currently offers AT&T Inc, Verizon communications Inc, Sprint Corp and T-Mobile US Inc, the last of which was added in 2013.
INVESTOR RESILIENCE? An analyst said that despite near-term pressures, foreign investors tend to view NT dollar strength as a positive signal for valuation multiples Morgan Stanley has flagged a potential 10 percent revenue decline for Taiwan’s tech hardware sector this year, as a sharp appreciation of the New Taiwan dollar begins to dent the earnings power of major exporters. In what appears to be the first such warning from a major foreign brokerage, the US investment bank said the currency’s strength — fueled by foreign capital inflows and expectations of US interest rate cuts — is compressing profit margins for manufacturers with heavy exposure to US dollar-denominated revenues. The local currency has surged about 10 percent against the greenback over the past quarter and yesterday breached
MARKET FACTORS: Navitas Semiconductor Inc said that Powerchip is to take over from TSMC as its supplier of high-voltage gallium nitride chips Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday in a statement said that it would phase out its compound semiconductor gallium nitride (GaN) business over the next two years, citing market dynamics. The decision would not affect its financial targets announced previously, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker said. “We are working closely with our customers to ensure a smooth transition and remain committed to meeting their needs during this period,” it said. “Our focus continues to be on delivering sustained value to our partners and the market.” TSMC’s latest move came unexpectedly, as the chipmaker had said in its annual report that it has
Rick Cassidy, the chairman of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co's (TSMC, 台積電) US subsidiary, TSMC Arizona Corp, plans to retire, but the company has yet to name a successor. After Cassidy made his intention to retire known, TSMC Arizona held a special general meeting and approved a resolution that Cassidy would not continue as chairman and would not remain as a director, TSMC said in a statement filed with the Taiwan Stock Exchange last night. The meeting also approved a plan to appoint TSMC Arizona president Rose Castanares as a director, the company said, adding that Cassidy has been named as an advisor
SECURITY WARNING: The company possesses key 3-nanometer technology, and Taiwan should prevent it from being transferred to China, a lawmaker said The Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday said it would conduct a “strict review” of any proposed acquisition of Taiwanese tech company Source Photonics Co (索爾思光電), following media reports that a Chinese firm was planning to buy the company in the Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區). Local media reported that Suzhou Dongshan Precision Manufacturing Co (東山精密), China’s largest printed circuit board manufacturer, had announced plans to acquire Source Photonics for 5.9 billion yuan (US$823.1 million). The ministry said it has not received an application from Source Photonics and has formally notified the company that any buyout would constitute a change in its ownership structure. The
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