AUSTRALIA
Big banks facing probe
The nation’s big banks are facing a probe by the competition regulator into mortgage pricing after failing to pass on in full the central bank’s latest cuts to official rates. Major lenders have been under sustained political criticism for holding back some of the rate cuts, and yesterday the government said it had directed the Competition and Consumer Commission to investigate. The probe would focus on how mortgages are priced, the difference in rates paid by new and existing customers, and barriers that might prevent customers switching lenders, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said.
CHINA
Auto sales down 6.6 percent
Auto sales last month fell for the 15th month in 16, extending their unprecedented slump, despite government efforts to support the world’s largest auto market. Sales of sedans, sport utility vehicles, minivans and multipurpose vehicles dropped 6.6 percent from a year earlier to 1.81 million units, the China Passenger Car Association said in a statement on Saturday.
AUTOMOTIVE
Mack Truck workers strike
More than 3,600 members of the United Auto Workers on Sunday went on strike against Mack Truck, a subsidiary of AB Volvo, as the union’s strike against General Motors Co continued. The new walkout hit Mack Truck plants in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Florida. The union said it was standing up for fair pay, benefits and job protections for union members. The union began a strike against General Motors on Sept. 16, idling 48,000 union members.
ENERGY
Aramco provides timetable
Saudi Arabian Oil Co (Aramco) hopes to fix by the end of next month the last four key pieces of equipment damaged during attacks last month, company officials said on Saturday. Aramco restored oil production of about 10 million barrels per day (bpd) within 10 days and said it was on track to regain its maximum capacity of 12 million bpd by the end of next month. Meanwhile, the initial public offering of Aramco would be announced “very very soon,” chairman Yassir al-Rumayyan said.
MALAYSIA
No tax hike, minister says
Minister of Finance Lim Guan Eng (林冠英) said the government would not raise taxes unnecessarily, even as a trade dispute between two of its largest trading partners hampers its goal of achieving a balanced budget. The government would spend within its means and would not add taxes just to fund certain infrastructure projects, Lim said in a Bloomberg Television interview. To raise funds, the government would sell samurai bonds early next year and continue its pursuit of assets lost in the 1Malaysia Development Bhd state investment fund scandal, he said.
COWORKING
WeWork seeking bailout
WeWork Cos is considering a bailout that would hand control of the coworking giant to Softbank Group Corp, a person familiar with the matter said, one of two main options to rescue the once high-flying start-up. WeWork’s board and backers are also weighing another option: JPMorgan Chase & Co is leading discussions about a US$5 billion debt package, Bloomberg has reported. Either rescue package would ease a cash crunch that could leave the office-sharing company short of funds as soon as next month.
US SANCTIONS: The Taiwan tech giant has ended all shipments to China-based Sophgo Technologies after one of their chips was discovered in a Huawei phone Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) suspended shipments to China-based chip designer Sophgo Technologies Ltd (算能科技) after a chip it made was found on a Huawei Technologies Co (華為) artificial intelligence (AI) processor, according to two people familiar with the matter. Sophgo had ordered chips from TSMC that matched the one found on Huawei’s Ascend 910B, the people said. Huawei is restricted from buying the technology to protect US national security. Reuters could not determine how the chip ended up on the Huawei product. Sophgo said in a statement on its Web site yesterday that it was in compliance with all laws
SPEED OF LIGHT: US lawmakers urged the commerce department to examine the national security threats from China’s development of silicon photonics technology US President Joe Biden’s administration on Monday said it is finalizing rules that would limit US investments in artificial intelligence (AI) and other technology sectors in China that could threaten US national security. The rules, which were proposed in June by the US Department of the Treasury, were directed by an executive order signed by Biden in August last year covering three key sectors: semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum information technologies and certain AI systems. The rules are to take effect on Jan. 2 next year and would be overseen by the Treasury’s newly created Office of Global Transactions. The Treasury said the “narrow
TECH TITANS: Nvidia briefly overtook Apple again on Friday after becoming the world’s largest company for a short period in June, as Microsoft fell to third place Nvidia Corp dethroned Apple Inc as the world’s most valuable company on Friday following a record-setting rally in the stock, powered by insatiable demand for its specialized artificial intelligence (AI) chips. Nvidia’s stock market value briefly touched US$3.53 trillion, slightly above Apple’s US$3.52 trillion, London Stock Exchange Group data showed. Nvidia ended the day up 0.8 percent, with a market value of US$3.47 trillion, while Apple’s shares rose 0.4 percent, valuing the iPhone maker at US$3.52 trillion. In June, Nvidia briefly became the world’s most valuable company before it was overtaken by Microsoft Corp and Apple. The tech trio’s market capitalizations have been
Two scoops of pistachio, one of corruption. For years holidaymakers have guzzled Sicilian gelato at famous parlors in Palermo, unaware that the booming businesses were controlled by organized crime. The fraud was a textbook case for detectives trained to sniff out dirty money, but even with three mobster classics — a suspicious bankruptcy, a front man and a scheming “Godfather” — it took years for investigators to shut the operation down. The Brioscia brand, made up of two ice cream parlors, was thriving at the end of the 2010s, attracting locals and foreign visitors alike with its glittering gold stars on travel