Ratings: S&P downgrades India
Bombay stocks fell 1.5 percent in early trade yesterday after Standard and Poor's downgraded India's local currency rating to junk status and stripped the country of its investment grade. The global ratings agency cited a setback in privatization reforms, rising debt and a weakening public sector as reasons for the downgrade. It also warned the slow pace of economic reforms made India a case for further downgrades. Reacting to the news, traders on the Bombay Stock Exchange turned aggressive sellers, dealers said, sending the 30-share index 47 points lower to 2,993.78. The index recovered later in the morning to 3,014.06. The ratings agency said it also put a "negative outlook" on India's long-term ratings of both local as well as foreign currencies. The long term local currency rating was downgraded to BB-plus from BBB-minus, while the short term local currency rating was cut to B from A-3.
Mobile phones: Qualcomm raises forecast
Qualcomm Inc will sell more mobile-telephone chips this quarter than forecast and predicted shipments will climb "significantly higher" in the next three months as users buy handsets with advanced features. Qualcomm, whose patents and chips are used in more than 127 million mobile phones, will ship 20 million chips in the period ending Sept. 29, compared with a July forecast of 18 million to 19 million. The San Diego-based company's shares rose as much as 9.5 percent in extended trading following the announcement. Phone makers such as Samsung Electronics Co are ordering more Qualcomm chips to keep pace with demand for mobile phones with faster Internet access, color screens and other new features.
Japan: Markets await reform plan
The Japanese government's leading economic panel will likely unveil emergency reform measures next month, a top minister said yesterday, dashing hopes of an imminent announcement which had lifted local markets. But eyes were still fixed on a meeting by the Economic and Fiscal Policy Council later in the day, on the off-chance it may still reveal new initiatives to boost the economy after the Bank of Japan (BoJ) stunned investors on Wednesday by announcing it would buy shares from banks to support the financial system. "If the BoJ's decision means a first step to set up a total reform plan for Japan's financial system, I will welcome this," State Minister for Economic and Fiscal Policy Heizo Takenaka told reporters.
COMBINING FORCES: The 66th Marine Brigade would support the 202nd Military Police Command in its defense of Taipei against ‘decapitation strikes,’ a source said The Marine Corps has deployed more than 100 soldiers and officers of the 66th Marine Brigade to Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) as part of an effort to bolster defenses around the capital, a source with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. Two weeks ago, a military source said that the Ministry of National Defense ordered the Marine Corps to increase soldier deployments in the Taipei area. The 66th Marine Brigade has been tasked with protecting key areas in Taipei, with the 202nd Military Police Command also continuing to defend the capital. That came after a 2017 decision by the ministry to station
‘INVESTMENT’: Rubio and Arevalo said they discussed the value of democracy, and Rubio thanked the president for Guatemala’s strong diplomatic relationship with Taiwan Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Guatemala City on Wednesday where they signed a deal for Guatemala to accept migrants deported from the US, while Rubio commended Guatemala for its support for Taiwan and said the US would do all it can to facilitate greater Taiwanese investment in Guatemala. Under the migrant agreement announced by Arevalo, the deportees would be returned to their home countries at US expense. It is the second deportation deal that Rubio has reached during a Central America trip that has been focused mainly on immigration. Arevalo said his
‘SOVEREIGN AI’: As of Nov. 19 last year, Taiwan was globally ranked No. 11 for having computing power of 103 petaflops. The governments wants to achieve 1,200 by 2029 The government would intensify efforts to bolster its “Sovereign Artificial Intelligence [AI]” program by setting a goal of elevating the nation’s collective computing power in the public and private sectors to 1,200 peta floating points per second (petaflops) by 2029, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The goal was set to fulfill President William Lai’s (賴清德) vision of turning Taiwan into an “AI island.” Sovereign AI refers to a nation’s capabilities to produce AI using its own infrastructure, data, workforce and business networks. One petaflop allows 1 trillion calculations per second. As of Nov. 19 last year, Taiwan was globally ranked No. 11 for
Israel yesterday said it has begun preparations for the departure of large numbers of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip in line with US President Donald Trump’s plan for the territory, while Egypt has launched a diplomatic blitz behind the scenes to try and head off the plan. The Trump administration has already dialed back aspects of the proposal after it was widely rejected internationally, saying the relocation of Palestinians would be temporary. US officials have provided few details about how or when the plan would be carried out. Trump yesterday said that Israel would turn Gaza over to the US after the