FOREX
HKMA intervenes again
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) yesterday said it had bought up more than US$2 billion worth of Hong Kong dollars to maintain a long-held peg to the US dollar. The intervention — the third in as many day and the latest in a series of moves to support the currency this year — comes as the US dollar rockets on the back of turmoil in emerging markets and the ongoing Turkish lira crisis. The buyout means that the agency will have just $12 billion in its reserves by the end of the week, the lowest level in a decade, Bloomberg News said.
AVIATION
Blackstone eyes India stake
Blackstone Group LP is in talks to buy a stake in the loyalty program of Jet Airways India Ltd, the troubled Indian carrier that is exploring options to raise cash, people with knowledge of the matter said. The private equity firm has expressed interest in a deal that could value Jet Privilege Pvt at about 30 billion rupees (US$429 million) to 40 billion rupees, the sources said.
COMPUTERS
Lenovo posts Q2 profit gain
Chinese technology giant Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想) yesterday recorded a sharp rise in first quarter net profit its turnaround gathered pace. The PC maker posted a US$77 million net profit in the quarter to June 30 — up from a US$72 million loss in the same period last year. Lenovo also reported a 19 percent rise in revenue to US$11.91 billion — its second consecutive quarter of double-digit revenue growth.
AUTOMAKERS
SEC subpoenas Tesla board
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has subpoenaed Tesla Inc as it digs deeper into CEO Elon Musk’s disclosure about a potential buyout of the electric car maker, according to media reports. The subpoena demands information from each of Tesla’s nine directors, according to a story published on Wednesday in the Wall Street Journal. The newspaper cited an unidentified person familiar with the matter after Fox Business News reported the commission’s move. Neither Tesla nor the SEC would comment on Wednesday. The subpoena signals that the SEC has opened a formal investigation into whether Musk told the truth in his tweet on Tuesday last week about have financing locked up for a deal that analysts have estimated would require US$25 billion to US$50 billion.
BRAZIL
Economy contracted in Q2
The economy contracted nearly 1 percent in the second quarter due to a trucker’s strike, the central bank said on Wednesday. The nine-day strike that ended in late May caused fuel shortages, cut into food deliveries and backed up exports. The bank said the economy shrank 0.99 percent. According to the bank, the nation’s Economic Activity Index rose 3.29 percent in June from May, which saw a 3.28 percent drop. However, that was not enough to close the quarter on a positive note.
AUSTRALIA
Joblessness hits record low
Unemployment dropped to the lowest level since November 2012, edging toward the full employment level its central bank is targeting, even as hiring fell and fewer people sought work last month. Joblessness fell from 5.4 percent in June to 5.3 percent, which was economists’ median estimate, Bureau of Statistics data showed yesterday. Employment fell 3,900 from June, when it rose an upwardly revised 58,200.
The Eurovision Song Contest has seen a surge in punter interest at the bookmakers, becoming a major betting event, experts said ahead of last night’s giant glamfest in Basel. “Eurovision has quietly become one of the biggest betting events of the year,” said Tomi Huttunen, senior manager of the Online Computer Finland (OCS) betting and casino platform. Betting sites have long been used to gauge which way voters might be leaning ahead of the world’s biggest televised live music event. However, bookmakers highlight a huge increase in engagement in recent years — and this year in particular. “We’ve already passed 2023’s total activity and
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) today announced that his company has selected "Beitou Shilin" in Taipei for its new Taiwan office, called Nvidia Constellation, putting an end to months of speculation. Industry sources have said that the tech giant has been eyeing the Beitou Shilin Science Park as the site of its new overseas headquarters, and speculated that the new headquarters would be built on two plots of land designated as "T17" and "T18," which span 3.89 hectares in the park. "I think it's time for us to reveal one of the largest products we've ever built," Huang said near the
China yesterday announced anti-dumping duties as high as 74.9 percent on imports of polyoxymethylene (POM) copolymers, a type of engineering plastic, from Taiwan, the US, the EU and Japan. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce’s findings conclude a probe launched in May last year, shortly after the US sharply increased tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, computer chips and other imports. POM copolymers can partially replace metals such as copper and zinc, and have various applications, including in auto parts, electronics and medical equipment, the Chinese ministry has said. In January, it said initial investigations had determined that dumping was taking place, and implemented preliminary
Intel Corp yesterday reinforced its determination to strengthen its partnerships with Taiwan’s ecosystem partners including original-electronic-manufacturing (OEM) companies such as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) and chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電). “Tonight marks a new beginning. We renew our new partnership with Taiwan ecosystem,” Intel new chief executive officer Tan Lip-bu (陳立武) said at a dinner with representatives from the company’s local partners, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the US chip giant’s presence in Taiwan. Tan took the reins at Intel six weeks ago aiming to reform the chipmaker and revive its past glory. This is the first time Tan
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