■ OIL
IEA warns of recession
High oil prices could tip the world economy into recession, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said yesterday. “That’s possible,” IEA executive director Nobuo Tanaka said on the sidelines of the International Energy Forum in Rome. On Monday, the IEA chief had said that oil prices, at their current levels, were “too high for everyone, especially for developing countries who face other significant costs increases, namely food prices.” The IEA represents the interests of the oil-consuming countries. World oil prices eased only slightly in Asian trade yesterday after once again spiking to a record high of US$117.56 the day before amid reports of pipeline sabotage in Nigeria and the refusal on the part of OPEC to raise output for the time being.
■ TRADE
Nomura employee probed
Japan’s top brokerage firm Nomura said yesterday that one of its employees was under investigation by the country’s financial watchdog over alleged insider trading. The government vowed a stern response over the case, which reportedly involves a 30-year-old employee at Nomura Securities who is suspected of leaking confidential merger and acquisition information to two acquaintances. The three Chinese men allegedly made about ¥40 million (US$388,000) in profit through insider trading in 2006 and last year, the Nikkei Shimbun reported, quoting unnamed sources familiar with the matter. The Tokyo District Prosecutors Office could arrest the Nomura employee anytime, Jiji Press news agency said.
■ AVIATION
Alitalia could lose license
Italian aviation authorities were warning they could revoke Alitalia’s flight license if it fails to meet its obligations, including safety. The warning came yesterday from Vito Riggio, the chairman of Italy’s civil aviation agency ENAC, following Air France-KLM’s announcement that it was abandoning its offer to buy Alitalia. Riggio’s comments on a state radio talk show highlighted aviation authorities’ worries that Alitalia’s failure to guarantee enough funds to operate for at least 12 months could compromise safety.
■ ELECTRONICS
TI profits up 28 percent
Texas Instruments (TI) said on Monday its first-quarter profit rose 28 percent as strong demand for analog chips used in electronic equipment offset lower sales of cellphone chips. Dallas-based Texas Instruments Inc. reported net income of US$662 million, or US$0.49 per share, including a tax gain of US$0.06 per share. A year ago, the company posted profit of US$516 million, or US$0.35 per share. Sales rose 2.5 percent to US$3.27 billion, compared with US$3.19 billion last year. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected adjusted profit of US$0.43 per share on slightly higher sales of US$3.28 billion.
■ INVESTMENT
Wealth management grows
Southeast Asia is seen as second only to China in growth potential for the wealth management field, a survey of wealth managers by Barclays Capital said yesterday. Asia’s wealth management growth is not expected to slow over the next two years, the survey showed. China was seen as the market with the highest revenue growth potential by 80 percent of the 91 respondents from 57 wealth management organizations across Asia, excluding Japan. Southeast Asia emerged second. About 60 percent of the wealth managers expected annual revenue growth of more than 15 percent from India, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
Right-wing political scientist Laura Fernandez on Sunday won Costa Rica’s presidential election by a landslide, after promising to crack down on rising violence linked to the cocaine trade. Fernandez’s nearest rival, economist Alvaro Ramos, conceded defeat as results showed the ruling party far exceeding the threshold of 40 percent needed to avoid a runoff. With 94 percent of polling stations counted, the political heir of outgoing Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves had captured 48.3 percent of the vote compared with Ramos’ 33.4 percent, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal said. As soon as the first results were announced, members of Fernandez’s Sovereign People’s Party
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to make advanced 3-nanometer chips in Japan, stepping up its semiconductor manufacturing roadmap in the country in a triumph for Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s technology ambitions. TSMC is to adopt cutting-edge technology for its second wafer fab in Kumamoto, company chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) said yesterday. That is an upgrade from an original blueprint to produce 7-nanometer chips by late next year, people familiar with the matter said. TSMC began mass production at its first plant in Japan’s Kumamoto in late 2024. Its second fab, which is still under construction, was originally focused on
EMERGING FIELDS: The Chinese president said that the two countries would explore cooperation in green technology, the digital economy and artificial intelligence Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday called for an “equal and orderly multipolar world” in the face of “unilateral bullying,” in an apparent jab at the US. Xi was speaking during talks in Beijing with Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi, the first South American leader to visit China since US special forces captured then-Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro last month — an operation that Beijing condemned as a violation of sovereignty. Orsi follows a slew of leaders to have visited China seeking to boost ties with the world’s second-largest economy to hedge against US President Donald Trump’s increasingly unpredictable administration. “The international situation is fraught
Opposition parties not passing defense funding harms Taiwan’s national security, two US senators said separately in rare public criticism. “I am disappointed to see Taiwan’s opposition parties in parliament [the legislature] slash President [William] Lai’s (賴清德) defense budget so dramatically,” Roger Wicker, a Republican who chairs the US Senate Armed Forces Committee, said on social media. “The original proposal funded urgently needed weapons systems. Taiwan’s parliament should reconsider — especially with rising Chinese threats,” he added. Wicker’s post linked to an article published by Bloomberg that said that the two opposition parties’ move was “potentially jeopardizing the purchases of billions of dollars of
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