CRYPTOCURRENCY
Coinbase responds to suit
Coinbase Inc said it is willing to take its legal fight with the US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) all the way to the nation’s highest court as the government agency widens its crackdown on tokens that it considers listed securities. “If it takes going to the Supreme Court, that’s what we’re prepared to do,” Coinbase’s top lawyer, Paul Grewal, said in an interview. The SEC sued the biggest US crypto exchange on Tuesday, alleging that the company has evaded rules in allowing users to trade tokens that were actually unregistered securities. The regulator is seeking an order that would require Coinbase to comply with securities laws, and give up what the agency says were ill-gotten gains.
AVIATION
Boeing delays deliveries
Boeing Co is to delay deliveries of its 787 Dreamliner after uncovering a defective part in the past few days, a setback as the planemaker works to meet soaring demand for its long-range aircraft. The flaw might affect about 90 already-built Dreamliners that have not yet been delivered, as well as a handful of planes on its final assembly line in North Charleston, South Carolina, Boeing said. Each aircraft is to be inspected for improperly sized shims within the horizontal stabilizer, a tiny wing attached to a jet’s tail. Boeing said it still expects to deliver between 70 and 80 of its marquee wide-body aircraft this year. Plans to raise production rates to five jets a month by year-end have not changed, either.
SINGAPORE
Property tax dents demand
The government’s latest property tax — now one of the highest among global markets — has dented foreign demand. Foreign buyers bought 57 private apartments last month, down 50 percent from April, Savills Singapore’s analysis of data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority showed. In late April, authorities doubled property levies for foreigners to 60 percent in a bid to tame soaring home prices. The government said the policy was a pre-emptive move, as investment demand for residential property is likely to continue to grow otherwise.
BANKING
US issues risk guidance
The top US banking regulators on Tuesday released new guidance for how banks should manage risks from firms they work with in a bid to reduce dangers to the financial system. The joint guidance from US Federal Reserve, the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corp and the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is meant to streamline government guidance on mitigating risks for working with third-party firms. The issue has grown in importance as lenders have worked more with financial technology and crypto companies.
CHEMICALS
WE Soda eyes UK listing
WE Soda Ltd, the world’s largest producer of natural soda ash, confirmed its intention to seek a listing on London’s main board, marking what is likely to be the City’s largest listing of the year. The company, which is backed by Turkish industrial conglomerate Ciner Group, said that indirect net proceeds from the offering are expected to be about US$800 million. WE Soda might seek a valuation of about US$7.5 billion, based on its earnings and traded peers. The company, which is one of the lowest cost producers of soda ash globally, produced about 5 million tonnes of natural soda ash and sodium bicarbonate last year.
Semiconductor shares in China surged yesterday after Reuters reported the US had ordered chipmaking giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to halt shipments of advanced chips to Chinese customers, which investors believe could accelerate Beijing’s self-reliance efforts. TSMC yesterday started to suspend shipments of certain sophisticated chips to some Chinese clients after receiving a letter from the US Department of Commerce imposing export restrictions on those products, Reuters reported on Sunday, citing an unnamed source. The US imposed export restrictions on TSMC’s 7-nanometer or more advanced designs, Reuters reported. Investors figured that would encourage authorities to support China’s industry and bought shares
FLEXIBLE: Taiwan can develop its own ground station equipment, and has highly competitive manufacturers and suppliers with diversified production, the MOEA said The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) yesterday disputed reports that suppliers to US-based Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) had been asked to move production out of Taiwan. Reuters had reported on Tuesday last week that Elon Musk-owned SpaceX had asked their manufacturers to produce outside of Taiwan given geopolitical risks and that at least one Taiwanese supplier had been pushed to relocate production to Vietnam. SpaceX’s requests place a renewed focus on the contentious relationship Musk has had with Taiwan, especially after he said last year that Taiwan is an “integral part” of China, sparking sharp criticism from Taiwanese authorities. The ministry said
US President Joe Biden’s administration is racing to complete CHIPS and Science Act agreements with companies such as Intel Corp and Samsung Electronics Co, aiming to shore up one of its signature initiatives before US president-elect Donald Trump enters the White House. The US Department of Commerce has allocated more than 90 percent of the US$39 billion in grants under the act, a landmark law enacted in 2022 designed to rebuild the domestic chip industry. However, the agency has only announced one binding agreement so far. The next two months would prove critical for more than 20 companies still in the process
CHANGING JAPAN: Nvidia-powered AI services over cellular networks ‘will result in an artificial intelligence grid that runs across Japan,’ Nvidia’s Jensen Huang said Softbank Group Corp would be the first to build a supercomputer with chips using Nvidia Corp’s new Blackwell design, a demonstration of the Japanese company’s ambitions to catch up on artificial intelligence (AI). The group’s telecom unit, Softbank Corp, plans to build Japan’s most powerful AI supercomputer to support local services, it said. That computer would be based on Nvidia’s DGX B200 product, which combines computer processors with so-called AI accelerator chips. A follow-up effort will feature Grace Blackwell, a more advanced version, the company said. The announcement indicates that Softbank Group, which until early 2019 owned 4.9 percent of Nvidia, has secured a
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