■ ENERGY
TNK-BP sees end to dispute
The head of British-Russian oil giant TNK-BP yesterday said a dispute within the company seen as a test of Russia’s investment climate would be resolved soon. “I am sure the dispute will be resolved within days,” Robert Dudley was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying on the sidelines of an economic forum in Saint Petersburg. TNK-BP is Russia’s third-largest oil producer and is jointly held by British oil major BP and three Russian billionaires, who have called for Dudley to step down, accusing him of working solely in BP’s interests. Dudley was also summoned this week by Russian authorities in a tax investigation.
■AUTOMOBILES
Toyota plans more hybrids
Toyota Motor Corp plans to produce hybrid cars in Australia and Thailand as demand for fuel-efficient vehicles surges along with oil prices, Japan’s top business daily said yesterday. Toyota, the world’s second-biggest automaker by annual vehicle sales, will roll out the hybrid version of the popular Camry sedan in Thailand at the end of next year and in Australia as early as 2010, the Nihon Keizai newspaper said. Officials at Toyota could not be reached for comment. Toyota is hoping to sell 1 million hybrids a year sometime after 2010.
■FINANCE
Credit card borrowing slows
Americans relied a lot less on their credit cards in April with debt in that area rising at the slowest pace in nearly three years. The Federal Reserve said on Friday that consumer borrowing increased at an annual rate of 4.2 percent in April, slower than the 6.2 percent increase of March. The slowdown reflected the fact that borrowing in the category that includes credit cards rose at an annual rate of just 0.4 percent, the weakest performance since borrowing in this area actually declined at a 1.8 percent rate in May 2005.
■AUTOMOBILES
Firms take state to court
General Motors Corp and other automakers said California was trying to enforce carbon-reduction rules not yet approved by the Environmental Protection Agency and asked a judge for an order blocking the regulations. Without an injunction, automakers will have to spend billions of dollars by the end of this year, said the filing to the federal court in Fresno, California. The companies are seeking a court order that would prevent California from requiring companies to take any steps toward compliance before 2017. In December the EPA blocked California’s efforts to require cuts in greenhouse gas exhaust starting with next year’s models, saying a nationwide regulation was needed. It was the first time the EPA rejected a California pollution program.
■AGRICULTURE
Farmers to end strike
Argentine farm leaders said they would end their latest strike against a new export tax plan tomorrow in order to enter talks with the government and calm fears of food shortages. Argentina’s four biggest farming groups said on Friday that they were willing to enter talks aimed at ending the dispute, which started when the taxes were introduced on March 11. Farmers will remain “on alert” along roadsides as talks begin, said an e-mailed statement drafted after an eight-hour meeting in Buenos Aires. Blockades by truck drivers, who are protesting the farmers’ actions, have raised the threat of food shortages in the South American country for the second time since March.
Packed into a small room, a drone, bipedal robot, supermarket checkout and other devices showcase a vision of China’s software future — one where an operating system developed by national champion Huawei (華為) has replaced Windows and Android. The collection is at the Harmony Ecosystem Innovation Center in the southern city of Shenzhen, a local government-owned entity that encourages authorities, companies and hardware makers to develop software using OpenHarmony (鴻蒙), an open-source version of the operating system Huawei launched five years ago after US sanctions cut off support for Google’s Android. While Huawei’s recent strong-selling smartphone launches have been closely watched for
The waves of the Aegean Sea lap gently at the tables and chairs of two beach restaurants on Greece’s Halkidiki peninsula. It is an idyllic scene, but one that is totally illegal. Like many others in Greece, the two establishments on Pefkochori Beach do not have a license to set up shop so close to the water. After a wave of protests last summer by locals about bars and restaurants illegally covering beaches with sunbeds and tables, the Greek state is taking action. It is cracking down on rogue tourist practices with surveillance drones, satellite imagery and a special app
VALUABLE STOCK: The company closed at NT$1,005 a share, on demand for AI and HPC chips, and is expected to issue a positive report during its earnings conference Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) shares rose 2.66 percent to close at a record high of NT$1,005 yesterday. as investors expect the company to continue benefiting from strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) chips. TSMC is the 19th member of the local bourse’s NT$1,000 stock club, which includes smartphone chip designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科) and electric transformer manufacturer Fortune Electric Co (華城電機). Yesterday’s rally swelled TSMC’s market capitalization to NT$26.06 trillion (US$802.3 billion) and contributed about 211 points to the TAIEX, which closed up 350.1 points, or 1.51 percent, to 23,522.53, another record high, Taiwan Stock
South Korea’s SK Hynix Inc, the world’s No. 2 memorychip maker, is to invest 103 trillion won (US$74.6 billion) through 2028 to strengthen its chips business, focusing on artificial intelligence (AI), its parent SK Group said yesterday. SK Group also said it plans to secure 80 trillion won by 2026 to invest in AI and semiconductors as well as fund shareholder returns, while streamlining its more than 175 subsidiaries. The sprawling conglomerate outlined the plans following a two-day strategy meeting, aiming to revive the group after SK Hynix, its main money maker, and the group’s electric vehicle battery arm suffered heavy losses. SK