FIJI
World Bank issues warning
The country must take urgent action to reduce a debt burden that exceeds 90 percent of GDP or put at risk its recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and plans for sustainable economic development, the World Bank said yesterday. “Levels of [debt at] around 90% [of GDP] leave the country with limited buffers to address future shocks and highlight the scale and urgency of the fiscal consolidation required,” the bank said in a report. “This situation, combined with emerging global economic risks, threatens Fiji’s macro-fiscal stability, an essential foundation for sustainable economic and social development,” the report said.
PHARMACEUTICALS
GSK to buy Bellus Health
GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK) agreed to buy Canadian biotech Bellus Health Inc for a total equity value of about US$2 billion to bolster its pipeline of experimental medicines. The UK drugmaker is to pay US$14.75 per share in cash for Bellus, a 103 percent premium to the stock’s Monday close, it said in a statement yesterday. The takeover would bring GSK a treatment for chronic cough that has shown promising results in clinical trials and has advanced through much of the research process. Bellus’ experimental medicine camlipixant would probably launch in 2026 and the transaction would likely start boosting earnings per share in 2027, GSK said.
TECHNOLOGY
Apple offers savings account
Apple Inc introduced a long-promised high-yield savings account with Goldman Sachs Group Inc, looking to attract US financial clients with an attractive rate and the ease of its Wallet app. The new offering would let Apple Card users earn a 4.15 percent annual yield, more than 10 times the national average, the tech company said in a statement on Monday. The account has no fees, minimum deposit or balance requirements and can be set up from within the Wallet app. The move thrusts the tech company’s clout into a broader fight for depositors, potentially adding to the pressure on other financial firms that are trying to protect their funding.
SINGAPORE
MAS head to step down
Ravi Menon, the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) longest-serving managing director, is poised to leave the central bank this year, people familiar with the matter have said. Menon has been at the helm of the MAS since 2011 and his term ends on May 31. Chia Der Jiun (謝?真), one of his former deputies, is tipped to be his successor, the people said. Chia is the Ministry of Manpower’s permanent secretary for development.
TECHNOLOGY
Ericsson beats estimates
Ericsson AB reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings, but said that a pull back in 5G spending in some of the company’s more mature markets was set to continue. The Swedish maker of mobile networks yesterday reported an adjusted earnings before interest and taxes of 4 billion kronor (US$387 million) in the quarter, more than the analysts’ estimate of 3.28 billion kronor. Revenue rose to 62.6 billion kronor, more than the expected 60.78 billion kronor. The company also gave guidance that the second-quarter earnings before interest, taxes and amortization margin would “reach mid-single-digit level” on the group level and gradually recover in the second half amid “a choppy environment during 2023 with poor visibility.”
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
NOT JUSTIFIED: The bank’s governor said there would only be a rate cut if inflation falls below 1.5% and economic conditions deteriorate, which have not been detected The central bank yesterday kept its key interest rates unchanged for a fifth consecutive quarter, aligning with market expectations, while slightly lowering its inflation outlook amid signs of cooling price pressures. The move came after the US Federal Reserve held rates steady overnight, despite pressure from US President Donald Trump to cut borrowing costs. Central bank board members unanimously voted to maintain the discount rate at 2 percent, the secured loan rate at 2.375 percent and the overnight lending rate at 4.25 percent. “We consider the policy decision appropriate, although it suggests tightening leaning after factoring in slackening inflation and stable GDP growth,”
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
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
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