AUSTRALIA
Central bank maintains rates
The central bank yesterday held interest rates at a record low, despite “uncertainty” over consumer spending ahead of the festive season. The cash rate would remain unchanged at 0.75 percent as downside risks in the global economy “lessened recently,” Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Philip Lowe said. The resource-rich economy recorded its weakest annual growth in a decade for the year to June, expanding just 1.4 percent, but Lowe said that it has reached a “gentle turning point.” He said he expected growth to pick up to three percent by 2021.
TECHNOLOGY
T-Mobile begins 5G services
T-Mobile US Inc on Monday said that it became the first company to launch 5G wireless services across the US, although it would be slower than some expect for the new generation of connectivity. The number three US carrier said that its 5G network covers 200 million people and “goes through walls,” outperforming the limited 5G deployment of larger rivals Verizon Communications Inc and AT&T Inc earlier this year. The T-Mobile system operates on a low band that offers speeds faster than current 4G networks, but below the maximum promised for 5G. However, the company called it “real, standards-based 5G.”
INTERNET
Facbook testing transfer tool
Facebook Inc on Monday began testing a tool that lets users move their images more easily to other online services, as it faces pressure from regulators to loosen its grip on data. The social network’s new tool allows people to transfer their photographs and videos directly to competing platforms, starting with Google Photos. The company said that it would first be available to people in Ireland and would be refined based on user feedback. The tool would then be rolled out worldwide in the first half of next year.
BANKING
UniCredit to cut 8,000 jobs
Italian bank UniCredit SpA plans to reduce 8,000 jobs under a three-year plan that aims to increase shareholder value. UniCredit aims to close 500 branches, putting the customer focus on “streamlined processes and innovative products,” it said. The bank, Italy’s largest by assets, yesterday said that net profit would grow to 5 billion euros (US$5.5 billion) by 2023, from a forecast 4.7 billion euros this year, with earnings per share rising 12 percent per year. The bank also plans to return 8 billion euros in value to shareholders through share buybacks, which would reduce its market exposure and increase the value of shares traded, and dividends, which would increase by 40 percent in the period.
UNITED STATES
Manufacturing activity drops
Pain in the US’ manufacturing sector worsened last month as activity contracted for the fourth straight month, an industry survey released on Monday showed. Amid a slowing global economy and trade disputes, weak demand again ate into production of metals, wood products, plastics, appliances, oil, furniture and textiles, the Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) monthly report said. Inventories and prices fell for the sixth month in a row, while backlogs were the lowest in nearly four years. ISM’s index edged down two-tenths of a point to 48.1 percent, marking a faster rate of contraction than in October. Any reading below 50 indicates contraction.
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
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,
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,
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