CRYPTOCURRENCIES
Bitcoin surges 47%
Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, is on track to close out a banner year with another bang. The digital asset yesterday surged above US$28,000 to a record, adding to its 47 percent rally so far this month, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Bitcoin rose as much as 6.2 percent to US$28,572.10 in Asia trading and is on track for its biggest monthly gain since May last year. Bitcoin has almost quadrupled in value this year amid the COVID-19 pandemic, while the wider Bloomberg Galaxy Crypto Index tracking the largest digital currencies is up about 270 percent as rival coins such as Ether have also rallied.
UNITED KINGDOM
House prices rise
House price growth rose to a six-year high this month, rounding off a strong year for the market that defied a wider economic downturn. Values climbed 7.3 percent from a year earlier to an average of £230,920 (US$314,040), the Nationwide Building Society said yesterday. They increased 0.8 percent from a month earlier. The housing market has boomed as buyers sought new properties after a spring COVID-19 lockdown closed the market and the British government temporarily suspended a tax on home purchases. The growth continued through a second wave of the virus, as sales and viewings were allowed to keep operating even in areas hit by the harshest restrictions. Analysts are divided on the outlook for next year. Property Web site Rightmove sees asking prices climbing 4 percent due to a backlog of demand and rush to move before the tax reduction expires at the end of March, while Halifax says prices could slump as much as 5 percent next year as unemployment rises.
SOFTWARE
VMware accuses executive
VMware Inc said that one of its former top executives, Rajiv Ramaswami, breached his contractual obligations while being courted to be the chief executive officer of rival Nutanix Inc, adding another dimension to a bitter rivalry between the two software makers. VMware’s lawsuit against Ramaswami, who was named Nutanix CEO on Dec. 9, was filed on Monday in California state court in San Jose. The company accused its former chief operating officer of products and cloud services of meeting with Nutanix executives and board members while helping VMware craft a strategy and acquisitions road map. VMware, majority owned by Dell Technologies Inc, said that the executive’s actions and knowledge of its plans has caused “irreparable injury.” Nutanix, which was not named as a defendant in the suit, said that the case is an attempt by VMware to hurt a competitor.
MEAT
China urges virus checks
Chinese meat importers and processors have called on exporters in countries with COVID-19 outbreaks to step up checks on shipments before they are sent to the world’s biggest market, the China Meat Association said. “China has been importing a large quantity of meats this year, and has detected virus on the packaging of cold-chain products many times, even as lots of disinfection has been done domestically,” association spokesman Gao Guan (高觀) said on Tuesday. “It should be better to handle this [virus control] at the meats exporting origins, and carry out disinfection at the production plants,” as the cost would be lower, and efficiency higher, Gao said. China has ramped up disinfection and virus testing on frozen food after it reported finding the novel coronavirus on imported products and packaging.
Zhang Yazhou was sitting in the passenger seat of her Tesla Model 3 when she said she heard her father’s panicked voice: The brakes do not work. Approaching a red light, her father swerved around two cars before plowing into a sport utility vehicle and a sedan, and crashing into a large concrete barrier. Stunned, Zhang gazed at the deflating airbag in front of her. She could never have imagined what was to come: Tesla Inc sued her for defamation for complaining publicly about the vehicles brakes — and won. A Chinese court ordered Zhang to pay more than US$23,000 in
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday held its first board of directors meeting in the US, at which it did not unveil any new US investments despite mounting tariff threats from US President Donald Trump. Trump has threatened to impose 100 percent tariffs on Taiwan-made chips, prompting market speculation that TSMC might consider boosting its chip capacity in the US or ramping up production of advanced chips such as those using a 2-nanometer technology process at its Arizona fabs ahead of schedule. Speculation also swirled that the chipmaker might consider building its own advanced packaging capacity in the US as part
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday said that its investment plan in Arizona is going according to schedule, following a local media report claiming that the company is planning to break ground on its third wafer fab in the US in June. In a statement, TSMC said it does not comment on market speculation, but that its investments in Arizona are proceeding well. TSMC is investing more than US$65 billion in Arizona to build three advanced wafer fabs. The first one has started production using the 4-nanometer (nm) process, while the second one would start mass production using the
US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose up to 100 percent tariffs on Taiwan’s semiconductor exports to the US to encourage chip manufacturers to move their production facilities to the US, but experts are questioning his strategy, warning it could harm industries on both sides. “I’m very confused and surprised that the Trump administration would try and do this,” Bob O’Donnell, chief analyst and founder of TECHnalysis Research in California, said in an interview with the Central News Agency on Wednesday. “It seems to reflect the fact that they don’t understand how the semiconductor industry really works,” O’Donnell said. Economic sanctions would