TECHNOLOGY
Apple raises prices in Japan
Apple Inc raised the prices of its iPhones and iPads in Japan in an uncommon move to account for the yen’s precipitous drop in value this year. The US company added as much as 25 percent to the cost of its mobile gadgets in the country, raising the iPhone 13’s starting price to ￥117,800 (US$869). It increased the prices of its iPad and iPad Air by ￥10,000 each, Apple’s local Web site shows. Apple joins a growing list of retail brands from Asahi Group Holdings Ltd to Lawson Inc that are hiking consumer prices in Japan to contend with soaring production costs, compounded by a weakening local currency. Apple’s move may presage hikes from other makers of consumer electronics. Apple already raised prices of its MacBook computers by more than 10 percent last month, but that change was accompanied by the launch of new models.
TRANSPORTATION
Uber says complaints fall
Uber Technologies Inc on Thursday said it received 3,824 reports of sexual assault and misconduct across five categories on its ride-hailing app in 2019 and 2020, reflecting a 38 percent decline in the rate of such reports since its first safety report published two-and-a-half years ago. The decline may be related to the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused demand for Uber rides to plummet 80 percent, the company said in its second safety report. Still, the vast majority of trips on Uber — more than 99.9 percent — were completed without safety complaints. While lockdowns kept people out of cars, violent crimes in the US increased by the most in two decades, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. As a result, Uber said it saw an uptick of 18 percent in the rate of fatal physical assaults compared with the previous report.
AEROSPACE
Starlink service approved
Elon Musk’s SpaceX won permission from the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulators to offer its Starlink broadband-from-space service to users in vehicles, vessels and aircraft. The FCC announced the decision in an order published on Thursday, which said it also granted permission for the service to mobile customers of Kepler Communications Inc. Space Exploration Technologies Corp, the formal name of Musk’s closely held company, has launched about 2,500 first-generation satellites in its Starlink fleet and serves almost 500,000 subscribers worldwide. Customers get Starlink signals from space through small dishes that can be mounted on their homes or businesses. It is designed to serve remote and rural areas. SpaceX said its mobile gear would be much the same, although it would include extra sensors and mountings for use with trucks, recreational vehicles, boats and aircraft.
INDIA
Gas, fuel exports taxed
The government yesterday introduced export duties on gasoline and jet fuel to help maintain domestic supplies, while also imposing a windfall tax on oil producers that have benefited from higher global crude oil prices. The new taxes, announced in government orders, would dent the earnings of refiners such as Reliance Industries Ltd and Nayara Energy, partly owned by Russian oil major Rosneft, and oil producers Oil and Natural Gas Corp, Oil India Ltd and Vedanta Ltd. The government also set new rules requiring oil companies exporting gasoline to sell to the domestic market the equivalent of 50 percent of the amount sold overseas for the fiscal year ending on March 31 next year.
PROTECTIONISM: China hopes to help domestic chipmakers gain more market share while preparing local tech companies for the possibility of more US sanctions Beijing is stepping up pressure on Chinese companies to buy locally produced artificial intelligence (AI) chips instead of Nvidia Corp products, part of the nation’s effort to expand its semiconductor industry and counter US sanctions. Chinese regulators have been discouraging companies from purchasing Nvidia’s H20 chips, which are used to develop and run AI models, sources familiar with the matter said. The policy has taken the form of guidance rather than an outright ban, as Beijing wants to avoid handicapping its own AI start-ups and escalating tensions with the US, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the
Taipei is today suspending its US$2.5 trillion stock market as Super Typhoon Krathon approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed-income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Yesterday, schools and offices were closed in several cities and counties in southern and eastern Taiwan, including in the key industrial port city of Kaohsiung. Taiwan, which started canceling flights, ship sailings and some train services earlier this week, has wind and rain advisories in place for much of the island. It regularly experiences typhoons, and in July shut offices and schools as
Her white-gloved, waistcoated uniform impeccable, 22-year-old Hazuki Okuno boards a bullet train replica to rehearse the strict protocols behind the smooth operation of a Japanese institution turning 60 Tuesday. High-speed Shinkansen trains began running between Tokyo and Osaka on Oct. 1, 1964, heralding a new era for rail travel as Japan grew into an economic superpower after World War II. The service remains integral to the nation’s economy and way of life — so keeping it dazzlingly clean, punctual and accident-free is a serious job. At a 10-story, state-of-the-art staff training center, Okuno shouted from the window and signaled to imaginary colleagues, keeping
Arm Holdings PLC approached Intel Corp about potentially buying the ailing chipmaker’s product division, only to be told that the business is not for sale, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter. In the high-level inquiry, Arm did not express interest in Intel’s manufacturing operations, said the source, who asked not to be identified because the discussions were private. Intel has two main units: A product group that sells chips for personal computers, servers and networking equipment, and another that operates its factories. Representatives for Arm and Intel declined to comment. Intel, once the world’s largest chipmaker, has become the
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