UNITED STATES
Waters vows Trump probe
Democrat Maxine Waters, in line to take over the House Financial Services Committee, told colleagues she would undertake a deep dive into President Donald Trump’s “money trail,” beginning with ties to Deutsche Bank AG. In a memo obtained by Bloomberg, Waters promised that if she becomes the next chair of the panel with oversight over Wall Street, she would look at Deutsche Bank and examine any so-called suspicious activity reports filed with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.
HEALTHCARE
Kirin to shift from beer
Kirin Holdings Co, Japan’s second-largest beer brewer, plans to shift its core business strategy from beverages to “health and illness-preventing” solutions, the Sankei newspaper reported, citing chief executive officer Yoshinori Isozaki. The Tokyo-based company is planning a global expansion of products that use its proprietary lactic acid bacteria technology, which it believes can prevent illnesses, such as the common cold and influenza, the newspaper reported.
AUTO RACING
NASCAR bids for ISC stock
NASCAR has submitted a non-binding offer to acquire all Class A and Class B common stock of International Speedway Corp (ISC) not already owned by the controlling shareholders of auto racing series. The intent is to combine ISC and NASCAR as one privately-run group of companies led by the France family. Jim France, chairman and chief executive officer of NASCAR, said that the two companies need a unified approach for growth. NASCAR’s offer is to be reviewed by a committee of ISC board members.
SOFTWARE
Symantec stock rebounds
Symantec Corp’s shares have slumped this year amid an internal accounting investigation and waning consumer interest in antivirus software for PCs. Last week, the stock surged after a report that private equity firm Thoma Bravo LLC had approached the cybersecurity company about a potential takeover. “Sometimes we get some headlines, rumors and speculation and our policy is not to comment,” Symantec chief executive officer Greg Clark told Bloomberg Television on Thursday.
INFRASTRUCTURE
Atlantia to pay compensation
Italian infrastructure group Atlantia has set aside 350 million euros (US$396.81 million) to cover the estimated cost of rebuilding the Genoa bridge, which collapsed in August, and compensating the families of those killed. Atlantia’s net profit of 733 million euros was below an average estimate from analysts of 767 million euros. The company also decided not to pay an interim dividend for the first time since 2013.
ROMANIA
New wage tiers announced
The government has passed an emergency ordinance creating two different levels for the minimum national wage. According to Friday’s measure, the minimum monthly salary is to be 2,080 leu (US$506.32) starting Jan.1, while those with higher education qualifications or 15 years of employment are guaranteed 2,350 leu. Previously, there was a flat minimum monthly salary of 1,900 leu regardless of an employee’s qualifications.
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
An Indian factory producing iPhone components resumed work yesterday after a fire that halted production — the third blaze to disrupt Apple Inc’s local supply chain since the start of last year. Local industrial behemoth Tata Group’s plant in Tamil Nadu, which was shut down by the unexplained fire on Saturday, is a key linchpin of Apple’s nascent supply chain in the country. A spokesperson for subsidiary Tata Electronics Pvt yesterday said that the company would restart work in “many areas of the facility today.” “We’ve been working diligently since Saturday to support our team and to identify the cause of the fire,”
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
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