INTERNET
Twitter to restrict polls
Twitter Inc is to restrict voting on major policy decisions to paying Twitter Blue subscribers, company owner Elon Musk said in one of his first posts following a poll calling for him to step down. Responding to a Blue member using the handle Unfiltered Boss, Musk agreed with the suggestion that only subscribers should have a voice in future policy, adding: “Twitter will make that change.” A day earlier, the billionaire chief offered Twitter users a choice on leadership, asking them if he should step down. More than 10 million, or 57.5 percent of the votes, were in favor of Musk relinquishing his role as head of Twitter.
TECHNOLOGY
Court rules against Apple
A French court on Monday ordered Apple Inc to pay 1 million euros (US$1.06 million) for imposing unfair conditions on app developers and to bring its practices in line with new EU regulations. The ruling stems from a case launched in 2017 by French Minister of Finance Bruno Le Maire, who said the US tech giant imposed prices on French start-ups who want to sell their apps on the company’s platform. Apple said it would examine the ruling in detail and would continue to support developers while offering a safe platform for consumers.
RETAIL
Merch unauthorized: Bieber
Singer Justin Bieber accused retailer Hennes & Mauritz AB (H&M) of selling clothing depicting him without his consent. “The H&M merch they made of me is trash and I didn’t approve it,” Bieber wrote on Instagram. “Don’t buy it.” Clothes in the H&M collection include sweatshirts, T-shirts and hoodies featuring Bieber’s likeness, lyrics and branding. The retailer has previously sold Bieber’s concert tour merchandise, going back several years. “I didn’t approve any of the merch collection that they put up at H&M,” Bieber wrote on Monday. “All without my permission and approval.” A representative for H&M said the company followed proper approval procedures for the collection.
SWITZERLAND
Watch exports soar
Swiss watch exports soared to a record high last month as Americans snapping up pricey timepieces outweighed slumping demand from China. Shipments rose 10.9 percent to a monthly record of 2.4 billion Swiss francs (US$2.59 billion) last month, the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry said on Thursday. Exports totaled SF22.9 billion from January to November, an 11.9 percent rise and on track for the industry’s best year. Retailers in Qatar stocked up on expensive watches ahead of the FIFA World Cup, data showed, with exports soaring 112 percent to SF36 million compared with the same month last year.
AIRLINES
Lufthansa bonuses approved
Executive board members at Deutsche Lufthansa AG are each to receive several million euros as a bonus for this year and next year despite the company receiving COVID-19-pandemic-related state aid during that time, German daily Handelsblatt reported yesterday. The supervisory board approved the payments at a meeting early this month, Handelsblatt reported. However, some employee representatives voted against the payment, as they saw it in contravention of the rescue package conditions, the paper said. A Lufthansa spokesman said he could not comment on discussions within the supervisory board.
Merida Industry Co (美利達) has seen signs of recovery in the US and European markets this year, as customers are gradually depleting their inventories, the bicycle maker told shareholders yesterday. Given robust growth in new orders at its Taiwanese factory, coupled with its subsidiaries’ improving performance, Merida said it remains confident about the bicycle market’s prospects and expects steady growth in its core business this year. CAUTION ON CHINA However, the company must handle the Chinese market with great caution, as sales of road bikes there have declined significantly, affecting its revenue and profitability, Merida said in a statement, adding that it would
RISING: Strong exports, and life insurance companies’ efforts to manage currency risks indicates the NT dollar would eventually pass the 29 level, an expert said The New Taiwan dollar yesterday rallied to its strongest in three years amid inflows to the nation’s stock market and broad-based weakness in the US dollar. Exporter sales of the US currency and a repatriation of funds from local asset managers also played a role, said two traders, who asked not to be identified as they were not authorized to speak publicly. State-owned banks were seen buying the greenback yesterday, but only at a moderate scale, the traders said. The local currency gained 0.77 percent, outperforming almost all of its Asian peers, to close at NT$29.165 per US dollar in Taipei trading yesterday. The
RECORD LOW: Global firms’ increased inventories, tariff disputes not yet impacting Taiwan and new graduates not yet entering the market contributed to the decrease Taiwan’s unemployment rate last month dropped to 3.3 percent, the lowest for the month in 25 years, as strong exports and resilient domestic demand boosted hiring across various sectors, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday. After seasonal adjustments, the jobless rate eased to 3.34 percent, the best performance in 24 years, suggesting a stable labor market, although a mild increase is expected with the graduation season from this month through August, the statistics agency said. “Potential shocks from tariff disputes between the US and China have yet to affect Taiwan’s job market,” Census Department Deputy Director Tan Wen-ling
UNCERTAINTIES: The world’s biggest chip packager and tester is closely monitoring the US’ tariff policy before making any capacity adjustments, a company official said ASE Technology Holding Inc (日月光投控), the world’s biggest chip packager and tester, yesterday said it is cautiously evaluating new advanced packaging capacity expansion in the US in response to customers’ requests amid uncertainties about the US’ tariff policy. Compared with its semiconductor peers, ASE has been relatively prudent about building new capacity in the US. However, the company is adjusting its global manufacturing footprint expansion after US President Donald Trump announced “reciprocal” tariffs in April, and new import duties targeting semiconductors and other items that are vital to national security. ASE subsidiary Siliconware Precision Industries Co (SPIL, 矽品精密) is participating in Nvidia
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