TECHNOLOGY
Nvidia CEO urges AI rules
The burgeoning field of artificial intelligence (AI) would create powerful tools that require legal regulation and social norms that have yet to be worked out, Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Tuesday told an event in Stockholm to announce an upgrade of Sweden’s fastest supercomputer using tools from Nvidia to, among other things, develop what is known as a large language model that would be fluent in Swedish. “Remember, if you take a step back and think about all of the things in life that are either convenient, enabling or wonderful for society, it also has probably some potential harm,” Huang said, adding that engineering standards bodies would need to establish rules for building safe AI systems, similar to how medical bodies set rules for the safe practice of medicine.
AVIATION
All Berlin flights canceled
Berlin Brandenburg Airport said it yesterday canceled all passenger flights because of a strike organized by the Verdi union, grounding the German capital’s only commercial airport days before a week-long winter vacation in the city. The dispute means that about 300 takeoffs and landings would not be possible, affecting about 35,000 passengers, the airport operator said. Verdi called the warning strike citing dissatisfaction with proposals made in three rounds of collective bargaining negotiations by the airport’s management. It demands a pay increase of 500 euros (US$544) a month for ground services employees over a 12-month period and higher bonuses for air security personnel.
SEMICONDUCTORS
Texas Instruments’ sales fall
Texas Instruments Inc, one of the world’s largest chipmakers, has posted its first sales decline since 2020 and gave a tepid forecast for the current quarter, hit by an industry slump. Revenue would be US$4.17 billion to US$4.53 billion this quarter, the company said on Tuesday, compared with an average of analysts’ estimates of US$4.41 billion. Profit per share would be US$1.64 to US$1.90, versus a prediction of US$1.86. The outlook suggests that Texas Instruments might not bounce back quickly from its sales slowdown. Wall Street expects revenue to decline throughout this year, as the company’s customers focus on reducing their stockpiles of used chips, rather than ordering new ones. The company is confident that long-term trends in electronics would increase the need for semiconductors. “As we expected, our results reflect weaker demand in all end markets with the exception of automotive,” CEO Rich Templeton said.
SRI LANKA
Interest rate kept at 15.5%
The central bank kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged for a fourth straight meeting as Asia’s fastest inflation showed signs of cooling while the bankrupt economy seeks to turn the corner pending a crucial bailout. The bank held the standing lending facility rate at 15.5 percent, a move predicted by all five economists in a Bloomberg survey. “The maintenance of the prevailing tight monetary policy stance is imperative to ensure that monetary conditions remain sufficiently tight to rein in inflationary pressures,” the bank said in a statement on its Web site. “Tight monetary conditions, together with the tight fiscal policy, are expected to adjust inflation expectations downward.” The decision came a day after central bank Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe said policymakers are starting to see disinflation and price gains should ease to single-digit percentage levels by the end of this year.
The London Metal Exchange (LME) discovered bags of stones instead of the nickel that underpinned a handful of its contracts at a warehouse in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, in a revelation that would deliver another blow to confidence in the embattled exchange. The amount of metal represents just 0.14 percent of live nickel inventories on the LME, worth about US$1.3 million at current prices, so the immediate effect on the metals markets is limited. However, the shock announcement has much wider implications. In an industry riddled with scandals, the LME’s contracts are viewed as unquestionably safe. The news that even a few of
Oil on Friday posted its worst weekly loss since the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic as banking turmoil poisoned investor sentiment. West Texas Intermediate for April delivery dropped 2.36 percent to US$66.74 per barrel, falling 12.96 percent for the week, the largest drop in almost three years. Brent crude for May delivery fell 2.32 percent to US$72.97, posting a weekly loss of 11.85 percent. The failure of Silicon Valley Bank and troubles at Credit Suisse Group AG drove investors from risk assets, with oil-options covering accelerating the sell-off. “Crude action this week reminded many of how quickly the commodity can be decimated by
Huawei Technologies Co (華為) has replaced more than 13,000 parts in its products that were hit by US trade sanctions, the Chinese tech giant’s founder said, according to a speech transcript from last month posted on Friday by a Chinese university. Ren Zhengfei (任正非) said Huawei had over the past three years replaced the 13,000 components with domestic Chinese substitutes, and had redesigned 4,000 circuit boards for its products, the transcript posted by Shanghai Jiao Tong University said. “As of now, our circuit board [production] has stabilized, because we have a supply of domestically produced components,” Ren said. He did not give details
SIGNIFICANT OBSTACLES: Talks that should take months are occurring in days as pressure mounts from abroad, with US$6 billion and 10,000 jobs at stake, sources said UBS AG was up against the clock yesterday in talks to finalize a mammoth takeover of its troubled rival, Credit Suisse Group AG and reassure investors before the markets reopen. UBS, Switzerland’s largest bank, was urged by authorities finalize a deal to avoid a wave of panic on the markets today. The Swiss nation’s two largest banks were in urgent negotiations this weekend with the country’s banking and regulatory authorities, several media outlets reported. The generally well-informed tabloid Blick said UBS was about to purchase Credit Suisse in a deal to be finalized during an exceptional meeting in Bern, Switzerland, bringing together the
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