ONLINE GAMING
Activision deal in jeopardy
Traders are becoming increasingly unsure whether Microsoft Corp’s proposed US$69 billion takeover of Activision Blizzard Inc might go through, after the UK’s antitrust watchdog became the latest regulator to challenge the deal. Activision shares closed down 3.6 percent at US$72.89, putting them more than 23 percent below Microsoft’s cash offer of US$95. The gap between Activision’s stock price and the takeover bid widened after the British Competition and Markets Authority voiced its opposition to the tie-up. The market sees a 10 to 30 percent probability of the transaction being completed, Cowen & Co merger arbitrage specialist Aaron Glick said.
AUTOMAKERS
Collusion nets large fines
South Korea’s anti-trust regulator yesterday said it would impose a combined fine of 42.3 billion won (US$33.61 million) on three German automakers for colluding to use software to rig emission readings of its diesel vehicles. Mercedes-Benz AG, BMW AG, Volkswagen AG and Audi AG were involved in collusion that reduced competition and restricted consumer choice, the Korea Fair Trade Commission said in a statement. Mercedes-Benz was fined 20.7 billion won, BMW 15.7 billion won and Audi 6 billion won, the regulator said, adding that Volkswagen was not fined because it did not earn revenue relevant to the issue.
CONSUMER GOODS
Growth surprises Unilever
Unilever PLC yesterday reported quarterly underlying sales growth above expectations, helped by higher prices for its detergents, soaps and packaged food. The London-based company said it expects cost inflation to continue this year, forecasting net material inflation in the first half of about 1.5 billion euros (US$1.61 billion). “In the first half, underlying price growth will remain high, and volume growth will be negative,” Unilever said in a statement. “Volume will improve as price growth softens, but it is too early to say whether volume will turn positive in the second half.” Underlying sales rose 9.2 percent in the fourth quarter, beating company-provided analyst estimates of a 8.2 percent increase.
LABOR PROTECTION
US lifts Malaysian firm ban
The US yesterday lifted a year-long ban on the import of goods made by Malaysian rubber glove maker YTY Industry Holdings Sdn Bhd, saying the firm has resolved suspected labor abuses. The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) had banned YTY products in January last year, citing reasonable evidence showing the use of “forced labor” in YTY’s manufacturing operations, including abusive living and working conditions. The CBP yesterday said YTY has taken many remedial steps to address the forced labor indicators, and that the company has reimbursed migrant workers for recruitment fees they paid and commissioned an independent social audit.
GERMANY
Inflation rises slightly
Inflation picked up slightly last month, preliminary data yesterday showed, as the impact of a one-off energy subsidy the month before wore off. Consumer prices accelerated by 8.7 percent year-on-year, federal statistics agency Destatis said, up from 8.6 percent in December. The increase was smaller than expected, with analysts surveyed by FactSet predicting price growth of 8.9 percent. Energy prices have declined sharply recently, partly thanks to mild winter weather, a race to diversify supplies and energy-saving efforts.
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
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
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
Taiwan’s property market is entering a freeze, with mortgage activity across the nation’s six largest cities plummeting in the first quarter, H&B Realty Co (住商不動產) said yesterday, citing mounting pressure on housing demand amid tighter lending rules and regulatory curbs. Mortgage applications in Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung totaled 28,078 from January to March, a sharp 36.3 percent decline from 44,082 in the same period last year, the nation’s largest real-estate brokerage by franchise said, citing data from the Joint Credit Information Center (JCIC, 聯徵中心). “The simultaneous decline across all six cities reflects just how drastically the market
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