CANADA
Bank expands asset range
The Bank of Canada plans to buy for the first time government-backed mortgage bonds in a bid to broaden the range of high-quality assets in its operations to manage its balance sheet. The move — part of a decision of including government-guaranteed debt issued by federal Crown corporations — would allow the Ottawa-based central bank to offset continued growth in bank notes, the central bank said in an statement on Friday. It would also give it flexibility to further reduce its participation in primary Canadian government bond auctions to help boost the tradable float and support liquidity in the secondary market.
ESWATINI
PM tightens travel budget
The newly appointed prime minister on Friday banned first-class air travel for top government officials as part of a slew of measures to control spending. Prime Minister Ambrose Dlamini, who took office a month ago, also announced that he would not buy a new car for himself, but inherit the old one used by his predecessor, as the economy battles slowing growth. All senior officials, including himself and ministers “will no longer travel first class, but in business class when flying on national duties... All other public servants will fly in economy class,” Dlamini said in a statement.
POULTRY
Tyson among BRF bidders
Tyson Foods Inc is among the five firms still in the running for Asian and European chicken plants owned by BRF SA, people with direct knowledge of the matter said, asking not to be named because talks are private. Springdale, Arkansas-based Tyson and Sao Paulo, Brazil-based BRF declined to comment. Binding offers for Thai poultry processor Golden Foods Siam Ltd, as well as assets in Europe are due mid-December. The sale is part of BRF’s 3 billion real (US$783.03 million) divestment plan to ease debt. It received non-binding offers from eight companies, five of which were chosen to remain in the process, BRF chief executive officer Pedro Parente said on Nov. 8.
SOUTH AFRICA
KPMG reports ex-partner
KPMG South Africa has reported a former partner to the police over his alleged role in a corruption scandal in which almost 2 billion rand (US$144.31 million) was stolen from VBS bank, two KPMG employees familiar with the matter said. The KPMG employees said the accounting firm had sent an internal e-mail to staff on Friday that said its board had “assessed information on VBS and support criminal action being taken” against the former partner, Sipho Malaba.
AUTOMAKERS
GM brake probe launched
US highway safety investigators are investigating an alleged defect in 2.7 million pickups and sport utility vehicles (SUVs) built by General Motors Co (GM) that are getting into collisions because drivers are having trouble braking. The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened an investigation on Tuesday of trucks and SUVs, including GM’s best-selling Chevrolet Silverado after receiving 111 complaints from consumers. The power brake vacuum pump in the models can degrade and make it difficult to stop, the agency said. There have been nine crashes related to the problem and two injuries, the NHTSA said.
Intel Corp chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武) is expected to meet with Taiwanese suppliers next month in conjunction with the opening of the Computex Taipei trade show, supply chain sources said on Monday. The visit, the first for Tan to Taiwan since assuming his new post last month, would be aimed at enhancing Intel’s ties with suppliers in Taiwan as he attempts to help turn around the struggling US chipmaker, the sources said. Tan is to hold a banquet to celebrate Intel’s 40-year presence in Taiwan before Computex opens on May 20 and invite dozens of Taiwanese suppliers to exchange views
Application-specific integrated circuit designer Faraday Technology Corp (智原) yesterday said that although revenue this quarter would decline 30 percent from last quarter, it retained its full-year forecast of revenue growth of 100 percent. The company attributed the quarterly drop to a slowdown in customers’ production of chips using Faraday’s advanced packaging technology. The company is still confident about its revenue growth this year, given its strong “design-win” — or the projects it won to help customers design their chips, Faraday president Steve Wang (王國雍) told an online earnings conference. “The design-win this year is better than we expected. We believe we will win
Chizuko Kimura has become the first female sushi chef in the world to win a Michelin star, fulfilling a promise she made to her dying husband to continue his legacy. The 54-year-old Japanese chef regained the Michelin star her late husband, Shunei Kimura, won three years ago for their Sushi Shunei restaurant in Paris. For Shunei Kimura, the star was a dream come true. However, the joy was short-lived. He died from cancer just three months later in June 2022. He was 65. The following year, the restaurant in the heart of Montmartre lost its star rating. Chizuko Kimura insisted that the new star is still down
While China’s leaders use their economic and political might to fight US President Donald Trump’s trade war “to the end,” its army of social media soldiers are embarking on a more humorous campaign online. Trump’s tariff blitz has seen Washington and Beijing impose eye-watering duties on imports from the other, fanning a standoff between the economic superpowers that has sparked global recession fears and sent markets into a tailspin. Trump says his policy is a response to years of being “ripped off” by other countries and aims to bring manufacturing to the US, forcing companies to employ US workers. However, China’s online warriors
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