JAPAN
BOJ lowers its forecasts
The Bank of Japan (BOJ) yesterday lowered its economic growth and inflation forecasts for this fiscal year owing to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, but left its massive monetary easing policy untouched. For the year to March next year, the central bank expects the economy to shrink 5.5 percent, against a 4.7 percent contraction in the July estimate, while prices are expected to fall 0.6 percent, compared with a previously forecast 0.5 percent decline. The bank kept its negative interest rate of 0.1 percent on bank deposits, as well as its policy of unlimited purchases of government bonds, to ensure that their 10-year yields remain at about zero percent.
CHIPMAKERS
Marvell mulls buying Inphi
Marvell Technology Group Ltd is nearing a deal to acquire Inphi Corp for about US$10 billion, a person familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, adding to an already record year for chip industry deals. Marvell would pay 60 percent of the acquisition in stock, with the rest in cash, the person said. Inphi is a maker of chips that act as the interface in network gear that helps speed the flow of big chunks of information between computers and networks. It counts Microsoft Corp and Cisco Systems Inc among its biggest customers.
ENERGY
Shell to raise its dividend
Royal Dutch Shell PLC raised its dividend and pledged to grow the payout steadily, just six months after slashing it for the first time since World War II. Amid a painful year for oil companies, the Anglo-Dutch energy giant offered investors some good news. It also reported a larger-than-expected profit for the third quarter, even as most of its divisions continued to be battered by the COVID-19 pandemic. Shell’s dividend is to increase by 4 percent to US$0.1665 per share for the quarter, and increase annually thereafter, the company said in a statement yesterday.
MANUFACTURING
Panasonic profit plummets
Panasonic Corp yesterday said that its first-half net profit more than halved from a year earlier as the COVID-19 pandemic weighed on its businesses at home and overseas. The Japanese consumer electronics giant said that its bottom-line profit dropped to ￥48.9 billion (US$469 million) for the six months to last month from ￥100.9 billion in the same period last year. Sales sank 20.4 percent to ￥3.1 trillion. Panasonic left its full-year forecast unchanged, projecting a net profit of ￥100 billion for the fiscal year to March, a drop of 55.7 percent from the previous year. Full-year sales are still expected to fall 13.2 percent to ￥6.5 trillion.
BANKING
Credit Suisse eyes buyback
Credit Suisse Group AG is targeting as much as 1.5 billion Swiss francs (US$1.65 billion) of stock repurchases from next year, relying on stronger capital to boost returns after third-quarter profit missed estimates. Net income dropped to SF546 million, dragged lower by the bank’s key international wealth management and Swiss businesses, while the newly formed, combined investment bank and Asia business offset some of the declines. The bank is to buy back at least SF1 billion of shares next year, following its biggest rival UBS Group AG in signaling a return to buybacks after pressure from the Swiss regulator to conserve capital during the height of the pandemic.
DIVIDED VIEWS: Although the Fed agreed on holding rates steady, some officials see no rate cuts for this year, while 10 policymakers foresee two or more cuts There are a lot of unknowns about the outlook for the economy and interest rates, but US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled at least one thing seems certain: Higher prices are coming. Fed policymakers voted unanimously to hold interest rates steady at a range of 4.25 percent to 4.50 percent for a fourth straight meeting on Wednesday, as they await clarity on whether tariffs would leave a one-time or more lasting mark on inflation. Powell said it is still unclear how much of the bill would fall on the shoulders of consumers, but he expects to learn more about tariffs
Meta Platforms Inc offered US$100 million bonuses to OpenAI employees in an unsuccessful bid to poach the ChatGPT maker’s talent and strengthen its own generative artificial intelligence (AI) teams, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has said. Facebook’s parent company — a competitor of OpenAI — also offered “giant” annual salaries exceeding US$100 million to OpenAI staffers, Altman said in an interview on the Uncapped with Jack Altman podcast released on Tuesday. “It is crazy,” Sam Altman told his brother Jack in the interview. “I’m really happy that at least so far none of our best people have decided to take them
PLANS: MSI is also planning to upgrade its service center in the Netherlands Micro-Star International Co (MSI, 微星) yesterday said it plans to set up a server assembly line at its Poland service center this year at the earliest. The computer and peripherals manufacturer expects that the new server assembly line would shorten transportation times in shipments to European countries, a company spokesperson told the Taipei Times by telephone. MSI manufactures motherboards, graphics cards, notebook computers, servers, optical storage devices and communication devices. The company operates plants in Taiwan and China, and runs a global network of service centers. The company is also considering upgrading its service center in the Netherlands into a
NOT JUSTIFIED: The bank’s governor said there would only be a rate cut if inflation falls below 1.5% and economic conditions deteriorate, which have not been detected The central bank yesterday kept its key interest rates unchanged for a fifth consecutive quarter, aligning with market expectations, while slightly lowering its inflation outlook amid signs of cooling price pressures. The move came after the US Federal Reserve held rates steady overnight, despite pressure from US President Donald Trump to cut borrowing costs. Central bank board members unanimously voted to maintain the discount rate at 2 percent, the secured loan rate at 2.375 percent and the overnight lending rate at 4.25 percent. “We consider the policy decision appropriate, although it suggests tightening leaning after factoring in slackening inflation and stable GDP growth,”
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