MEXICO
Banker hints at rate cut
The economist tipped to be Mexican president-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s first central bank board nominee said that he expects the key interest rate to be cut next year, given the outlook for slowing inflation and growth. “Next year we’re likely to be in a period where the economy is going to decelerate, and, at the same time, we will have inflation going down,” Jonathan Heath, a former chief economist at HSBC Holdings PLC in Mexico, said on Friday. “I believe that in the appropriate moment next year they will begin to reduce rates, though perhaps cautiously.”
APPAREL
Cambodia hikes wages
Cambodia on Friday hiked the monthly minimum wage for garment workers by US$12 from US$170, fulfilling an election promise by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. The country’s US$7 billion apparel industry is fueled by more than 740,000 garment workers, who Hun Sen attempted to woo before July’s widely criticized elections. Union representatives said that the hike is not enough to address rising inflation and living expenses.
RETAIL
Mattress Firm goes bankrupt
Mattress Firm Inc, the US’ largest mattress retailer, on Friday filed for bankruptcy protection, saying that its rapid expansion of stores over the past few years — with locations often very close to each other — has resulted in “cannibalization” of sales. The Houston-based company filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code in federal court in Delaware, saying that it plans to close up to 700 stores around countrywide as part of its reorganization plan to continue operating.
RETAIL
Worker broke privacy rules
Amazon.com Inc said that it fired an employee who disclosed customer e-mail addresses to a third-party merchant on the Web site in violation of the e-commerce giant’s policies. “The individual responsible for this incident has been terminated from their position,” an Amazon spokesman said in a statement. Amazon alerted the shoppers, although the company said no change of password was needed. The company did not disclose how many customers were affected.
LOGISTICS
UPS union rejects contract
United Parcel Service Inc’s (UPS) union on Friday voted down a five-year labor contract. Opponents of the main contract balked at a US$13-per-hour starting wage for part-timers, US$2 short of what some workers demanded. They were also unhappy with the creation of a new hybrid class of weekend drivers that are to load packages and earn less than current parcel drivers.
INVESTMENT
GIC acquires Masan stake
GIC Pte, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, has purchased a stake in Vietnamese conglomerate Masan Group Corp, people with knowledge of the matter said. The state investment firm bought about half of KKR & Co’s 4.7 percent stake in Masan, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. It purchased the stock as part of a placement by KKR, which offloaded its entire holding in a US$209 million deal, the people said.
SEMICONDUCTORS: The German laser and plasma generator company will expand its local services as its specialized offerings support Taiwan’s semiconductor industries Trumpf SE + Co KG, a global leader in supplying laser technology and plasma generators used in chip production, is expanding its investments in Taiwan in an effort to deeply integrate into the global semiconductor supply chain in the pursuit of growth. The company, headquartered in Ditzingen, Germany, has invested significantly in a newly inaugurated regional technical center for plasma generators in Taoyuan, its latest expansion in Taiwan after being engaged in various industries for more than 25 years. The center, the first of its kind Trumpf built outside Germany, aims to serve customers from Taiwan, Japan, Southeast Asia and South Korea,
Gasoline and diesel prices at domestic fuel stations are to fall NT$0.2 per liter this week, down for a second consecutive week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) announced yesterday. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to drop to NT$26.4, NT$27.9 and NT$29.9 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, the companies said in separate statements. The price of premium diesel is to fall to NT$24.8 per liter at CPC stations and NT$24.6 at Formosa pumps, they said. The price adjustments came even as international crude oil prices rose last week, as traders
SIZE MATTERS: TSMC started phasing out 8-inch wafer production last year, while Samsung is more aggressively retiring 8-inch capacity, TrendForce said Chipmakers are expected to raise prices of 8-inch wafers by up to 20 percent this year on concern over supply constraints as major contract chipmakers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and Samsung Electronics Co gradually retire less advanced wafer capacity, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. It is the first significant across-the-board price hike since a global semiconductor correction in 2023, the Taipei-based market researcher said in a report. Global 8-inch wafer capacity slid 0.3 percent year-on-year last year, although 8-inch wafer prices still hovered at relatively stable levels throughout the year, TrendForce said. The downward trend is expected to continue this year,
POWERING UP: PSUs for AI servers made up about 50% of Delta’s total server PSU revenue during the first three quarters of last year, the company said Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) reported record-high revenue of NT$161.61 billion (US$5.11 billion) for last quarter and said it remains positive about this quarter. Last quarter’s figure was up 7.6 percent from the previous quarter and 41.51 percent higher than a year earlier, and largely in line with Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co’s (元大投顧) forecast of NT$160 billion. Delta’s annual revenue last year rose 31.76 percent year-on-year to NT$554.89 billion, also a record high for the company. Its strong performance reflected continued demand for high-performance power solutions and advanced liquid-cooling products used in artificial intelligence (AI) data centers,
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