CHIPMAKERS
Qualcomm defends lawsuits
Qualcomm chief executive Steve Mollenkopf on Monday said the chipmaker’s legal war with Apple Inc is about defending its business model, but predicted an eventual out-of-court settlement. Mollenkopf said the two tech giants will eventually “move on to greener pastures.” He said his company works on “core technologies” that are likely to be implemented years later, suggesting that is why it faces numerous legal disputes.
GERMANY
Investor confidence drops
Investor confidence dropped for a second month this month, according to the ZEW Center for European Economic Research. Its index of expectations, which aims to predict economic developments six months ahead, slid to 17.5 from 18.6 in June. However, the DAX is picking up again after sliding last month, and the Bundesbank says it expects “lively” manufacturing and employment growth to ensure a continued robust expansion. ZEW president Achim Wambach said the center remains optimistic about the prospects for the nation’s economy. ZEW’s gauge for current conditions in the eurozone climbed to 28.7 from 20.5, the report showed.
ENERGY
Firms’ recommendations cut
Exxon Mobil Corp and Chevron Corp had their recommendations cut at Wolfe Research as the outlook for oil prices deteriorates. Exxon was lowered to the underperform from peerperform, while Chevron was downgraded to peerperform from outperform, Wolfe analysts said in separate reports on Monday. Apache Corp, Hess Corp and ConocoPhillips were also downgraded, with Occidental Petroleum Corp the only outlier to get its rating increased among oil and gas producers. Oil prices have languished below US$50 a barrel in New York since May as rising US production and stubbornly high stockpiles put into question the ability of the OPEC and its allies to bring the market back to balance.
TURKEY
Growth likely to fall short
The nation’s economic growth this year will fall slightly short of the government’s forecast, a Reuters poll found, suggesting not all investor concerns following an April referendum giving President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sweeping new powers have eased. While growth forecasts are better than they were three months ago — alongside a rising stock market and a more stable lira — projected growth rates are still well below half the expected inflation rate, suggesting not all is well.
MINING
Rio Tinto eyes Canada
Rio Tinto Group’s pursuit of new diamond output to tap rising demand in Asia is focusing on a project in the Canadian forest. The world’s second-biggest miner yesterday added the Fort a la Corne joint venture, about 60km east of Prince Albert in Saskatchewan, to its published list of advanced projects after striking a deal last month to take as much as a 60 percent stake. The venture’s Star-Orion South project holds an estimated diamond resource of 55.4 million carats and has potential development costs of about C$2.5 billion (US$2 billion), according to 2015 filings by developer, Saskatoon-based Shore Gold Inc. The ore accounted for about 41 percent of revenue last year, while diamonds generated about 2 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Global diamond jewelry demand hit US$80 billion last year on higher employment and wage growth, De Beers Group last month said in a report.
DIVIDED VIEWS: Although the Fed agreed on holding rates steady, some officials see no rate cuts for this year, while 10 policymakers foresee two or more cuts There are a lot of unknowns about the outlook for the economy and interest rates, but US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled at least one thing seems certain: Higher prices are coming. Fed policymakers voted unanimously to hold interest rates steady at a range of 4.25 percent to 4.50 percent for a fourth straight meeting on Wednesday, as they await clarity on whether tariffs would leave a one-time or more lasting mark on inflation. Powell said it is still unclear how much of the bill would fall on the shoulders of consumers, but he expects to learn more about tariffs
Meta Platforms Inc offered US$100 million bonuses to OpenAI employees in an unsuccessful bid to poach the ChatGPT maker’s talent and strengthen its own generative artificial intelligence (AI) teams, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has said. Facebook’s parent company — a competitor of OpenAI — also offered “giant” annual salaries exceeding US$100 million to OpenAI staffers, Altman said in an interview on the Uncapped with Jack Altman podcast released on Tuesday. “It is crazy,” Sam Altman told his brother Jack in the interview. “I’m really happy that at least so far none of our best people have decided to take them
PLANS: MSI is also planning to upgrade its service center in the Netherlands Micro-Star International Co (MSI, 微星) yesterday said it plans to set up a server assembly line at its Poland service center this year at the earliest. The computer and peripherals manufacturer expects that the new server assembly line would shorten transportation times in shipments to European countries, a company spokesperson told the Taipei Times by telephone. MSI manufactures motherboards, graphics cards, notebook computers, servers, optical storage devices and communication devices. The company operates plants in Taiwan and China, and runs a global network of service centers. The company is also considering upgrading its service center in the Netherlands into a
NOT JUSTIFIED: The bank’s governor said there would only be a rate cut if inflation falls below 1.5% and economic conditions deteriorate, which have not been detected The central bank yesterday kept its key interest rates unchanged for a fifth consecutive quarter, aligning with market expectations, while slightly lowering its inflation outlook amid signs of cooling price pressures. The move came after the US Federal Reserve held rates steady overnight, despite pressure from US President Donald Trump to cut borrowing costs. Central bank board members unanimously voted to maintain the discount rate at 2 percent, the secured loan rate at 2.375 percent and the overnight lending rate at 4.25 percent. “We consider the policy decision appropriate, although it suggests tightening leaning after factoring in slackening inflation and stable GDP growth,”
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