UNITED STATES
Trump flip-flops on tax cuts
A day after considering cutting taxes to promote economic growth, President Donald Trump on Wednesday changed course and said he would abandon the idea because the nation already has “a strong economy.” Trump’s flip-flop came after market volatility and economic uncertainty, and amid a debate about whether the nation is heading for a slowdown that would imperil his re-election chances. “I’m not looking at a tax cut now,” he told reporters at the White House. “We don’t need it. We have a strong economy.”
AIRLINES
Air NZ blames fuel, engines
New Zealand’s national carrier yesterday said that increased fuel costs and engine problems were the main reasons why its annual profit dropped by more than 30 percent. Air New Zealand Ltd reported a pre-tax profit of NZ$374 million (US$238.6 million) for the year ending on June 30, compared with NZ$540 million in the same period last year. Annual revenue grew 5.3 percent to NZ$5.8 billion. Meanwhile, chief financial officer Jeff McDowall would become acting CEO after Christopher Luxon leaves on Sept. 25 until a permanent replacement is found, the firm said.
BANKING
HSBC mulling Asia buys
HSBC Holdings PLC, which shook up its senior leadership this month, is considering a bid for Asian operations being sold by Aviva PLC as it seeks ways to diversify its business in the region, people with knowledge of the matter said. London-based HSBC is in the early stages of weighing an offer for at least part of Aviva’s Asian business, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. A deal would help HSBC bolster its insurance presence in Singapore and other parts of Southeast Asia, the people said. Aviva, the UK insurance conglomerate whose shares have dropped 27 percent in the past 12 months, this month confirmed that it is examining options for its Asian business.
AIRLINES
Ryanair strike effects slight
UK flights operated by Ryanair Holdings PLC were taking off yesterday largely as scheduled as pilots in the discount carrier’s biggest market begin a two-day strike ahead of the busiest travel weekend of the year. The action started soon after midnight yesterday, after Ryanair failed to obtain a legal injunction blocking the walkout by members of the British Airline Pilots’ Association. Early morning services from London Stansted Airport, the carrier’s biggest base, appeared to be operating largely as planned, according to data from tracking Web site FlightRadar24. Ryanair and the association did not immediately respond to e-mails and calls seeking comment.
GERMANY
Machine exports slashed
Trade conflicts and a weakening global economy have hit growth in the export-reliant machine-building sector, data showed on Wednesday, adding to signs that Europe’s largest economy could slip into a recession. Exports grew just 0.9 percent to 89.2 billion euros (US$98.83 billion) in the first half of the year, according to Mechanical Engineering Industry Association figures, as growth in the first quarter was all but wiped out by a contraction in the second. Machine exports grew by 3.8 percent in the first quarter and fell by 1.8 percent in the three months that followed.
SEEKING CLARITY: Washington should not adopt measures that create uncertainties for ‘existing semiconductor investments,’ TSMC said referring to its US$165 billion in the US Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) told the US that any future tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors could reduce demand for chips and derail its pledge to increase its investment in Arizona. “New import restrictions could jeopardize current US leadership in the competitive technology industry and create uncertainties for many committed semiconductor capital projects in the US, including TSMC Arizona’s significant investment plan in Phoenix,” the chipmaker wrote in a letter to the US Department of Commerce. TSMC issued the warning in response to a solicitation for comments by the department on a possible tariff on semiconductor imports by US President Donald Trump’s
‘FAILED EXPORT CONTROLS’: Jensen Huang said that Washington should maximize the speed of AI diffusion, because not doing so would give competitors an advantage Nvidia Corp cofounder and chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) yesterday criticized the US government’s restrictions on exports of artificial intelligence (AI) chips to China, saying that the policy was a failure and would only spur China to accelerate AI development. The export controls gave China the spirit, motivation and government support to accelerate AI development, Huang told reporters at the Computex trade show in Taipei. The competition in China is already intense, given its strong software capabilities, extensive technology ecosystems and work efficiency, he said. “All in all, the export controls were a failure. The facts would suggest it,” he said. “The US
The government has launched a three-pronged strategy to attract local and international talent, aiming to position Taiwan as a new global hub following Nvidia Corp’s announcement that it has chosen Taipei as the site of its Taiwan headquarters. Nvidia cofounder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Monday last week announced during his keynote speech at the Computex trade show in Taipei that the Nvidia Constellation, the company’s planned Taiwan headquarters, would be located in the Beitou-Shilin Technology Park (北投士林科技園區) in Taipei. Huang’s decision to establish a base in Taiwan is “primarily due to Taiwan’s talent pool and its strength in the semiconductor
French President Emmanuel Macron has expressed gratitude to Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) for its plan to invest approximately 250 million euros (US$278 million) in a joint venture in France focused on the semiconductor and space industries. On his official X account on Tuesday, Macron thanked Hon Hai, also known globally as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), for its investment projects announced at Choose France, a flagship economic summit held on Monday to attract foreign investment. In the post, Macron included a GIF displaying the national flag of the Republic of China (Taiwan), as he did for other foreign investors, including China-based
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