Tycoon Musk launches Starlink in Indonesia

Tech billionaire Elon Musk launched Sunday his Starlink service on Indonesia's resort island of Bali as the country aims to extend internet to its remote areas. Millions of people in Indonesia, a vast archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, are not currently hooked up to reliable internet services. Musk, making his first visit to the Southeast Asian nation, inaugurated the satellite unit services at a clinic in Bali's capital Denpasar on Sunday afternoon. He also signed an agreement o

May 19, 2024

Biden unveils tariff hikes on Chinese EVs, solar cells, semiconductors, other imports

US President Joe Biden plans to quadruple tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and hike duties for solar cells, semiconductors and other "strategic" sectors, the White House said Tuesday, as he is revving up his reelection campaign. The Biden administration announced a new package of tariff increases, casting it as an endeavor to protect American workers and businesses from what it calls China's unfair trade practices, and accusing China of flooding global markets with "artif

May 15, 2024

[Graphic News] Samsung tops global smartphone market in Q1

Samsung Electronics has reclaimed the top spot in global smartphone sales, surpassing Apple. According to market research firm IDC, Samsung Electronics ranked first in market share (20.8 percent), with 60.1 million smartphones sold, in the first quarter of this year. Apple, which sold 50.1 million smartphones, retreated to second place in Q1 with 17.3 percent of the market share. Samsung’s sales fell by 0.7 percent compared to the first quarter of last year, but Apple sales showed a shar

April 30, 2024

US probes whether Tesla Autopilot recall did enough to make sure drivers pay attention

The US government's auto safety agency is investigating whether last year's recall of Tesla's Autopilot driving system did enough to make sure drivers pay attention to the road. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says in documents posted on its website Friday that Tesla has reported additional crashes involving Autopilot since the recall, raising concerns at the agency about the effectiveness of the remedy. The recall involved more than 2 million vehicles, nearly

April 26, 2024

EU toughens safety rules for online retailer Shein

The European Union on Friday added Chinese-founded online retailer Shein to its list of digital companies that are big enough to come under stricter safety curbs. The company joins Facebook, TikTok, X, YouTube and others on a list of "very large online platforms" which have more than 45 million monthly active users in the European Union. From the end of August -- four months after the designation -- Shein will have to abide by tougher rules set out in the Digital Services Act (DSA),

April 26, 2024

Fed: Elevated inflation will likely delay rate cuts this year

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell cautioned Tuesday that persistently elevated inflation will likely delay any Fed interest rate cuts until later this year, opening the door to a period of higher-for-longer rates. “Recent data have clearly not given us greater confidence" that inflation is coming fully under control and "instead indicate that it’s likely to take longer than expected to achieve that confidence,” Powell said during a panel discussion at the Wilson Cen

April 17, 2024

[Graphic News] Samsung took top spot in US home appliance market last year: data

Samsung Electronics was the most popular home appliance brand in the United States last year in terms of market share, data showed. Samsung Electronics took up 21 percent of the home appliance market share in the US in terms of sales in 2023, followed by Korean rival LG Electronics at 19 percent, General Electric at 18 percent and Whirlpool at 15 percent, according to data from market researcher TraQline. A survey by also showed that Samsung was the most considered brand when consumers purchas

April 16, 2024

US Navy secretary touts S. Korea's shipbuilding capabilities

US Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro has noted South Korea's capabilities to build high-quality ships, including warships, in a cost-effective way while voicing concerns that America's shipbuilding capabilities have "atrophied" over the past decades. Toro made the remarks during an event organized by the Navy League in Maryland on Tuesday, stressing the need to reverse the United States' underinvestment in modernization and industrial capacity. "Our Korean and Japanese allies

April 12, 2024

USTR takes issue again with S. Korean bills on network usage fees

The Office of the US Trade Representative has taken issue again with South Korean bills calling on foreign online content providers to pay network usage fees in a recent report, saying they could be "anticompetitive." On Friday, the office issued the 2024 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers, where it touched on the bills that have been pending at the National Assembly. US streaming giant Netflix and other foreign content providers could be subject to the fees in qu

April 2, 2024

IMF urges tighter Swiss regulation after UBS takeover of Credit Suisse

The IMF urged Switzerland on Thursday to strengthen its financial sector regulation as supervising UBS has become "more challenging" since it grew into a global banking behemoth after its takeover of Credit Suisse. Switzerland's biggest bank was strongarmed by the government into buying Credit Suisse last year over fears that the second largest lender in the country might go under and spark a global financial crisis. "Lessons from the CS (Credit Suisse) case should inform fur

March 28, 2024

Dutch government to launch plan to keep ASML in Netherlands

The Dutch government is expected to lay out initial plans on Thursday to keep the country's largest company ASML, from moving operations outside the Netherlands over concerns ranging from anti-immigration policies to infrastructure problems. Semiconductor equipment maker ASML, Europe's largest tech company, shocked the Dutch government into action after CEO Peter Wennink went public with complaints about policy, including ending a tax break for skilled migrants which would make it hard

March 28, 2024

US unveils some $20 billion in grants, loans to Intel

The White House announced a plan Wednesday to award Intel Corp. nearly $20 billion in grants and loans, marking the Joe Biden administration's largest funding scheme under its initiative to strengthen domestic semiconductor production. The Department of Commerce has reached a preliminary agreement with Intel to provide up to $8.5 billion in grants and $11 billion in loans under the CHIPS and Science Act, it said, as South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufac

March 21, 2024

US Fed keeps key rate unchanged for 5th straight time, signals 3 rate cuts this year

The US Federal Reserve on Wednesday held its benchmark lending rate steady for a fifth consecutive time and signaled that it could lower the rate three times this year in line with policymakers' previous projections. After the two-day Federal Open Market Committee meeting, the central bank announced its decision to maintain the rate in the 5.25 to 5.50 percent range. FOMC members' latest median economic projections showed that the federal funds rate would be cut to 4.6 percent at the e

March 21, 2024

Biden to tout government investing $8.5 billion in Intel's computer chip plants in four states

The Biden administration has reached an agreement to provide Intel with up to $8.5 billion in direct funding and $11 billion in loans for computer chip plants in Arizona, Ohio, New Mexico and Oregon. President Joe Biden plans to talk up the investment on Wednesday as he visits Intel's campus in Chandler, Arizona, which could be a decisive swing state in November’s election. He has often said that not enough voters know about his economic policies and suggested that more would suppor

March 20, 2024

Unilever to cut 7,500 jobs and spin off its ice cream business, which includes Ben & Jerry's

LONDON (AP) -- Unilever, the company that makes Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, Dove soaps and Vaseline, said Tuesday that it is cutting 7,500 jobs and spinning off its ice cream business to reduce costs and boost profits. London-based Unilever said its ice cream business, which also includes Magnum bars, has “distinct characteristics” from its other brands and would benefit from separate ownership to increase growth. It said the split is expected to be completed by the end of n

March 19, 2024

Chinese stocks slide as investors maintain caution after US inflation report

HONG KONG — China stocks were lower Wednesday after the overnight United States inflation report that signaled a diminished possibility of the Fed's rate cut made investors cautious. Hong Kong stocks edged less than 0.1 percent lower at 17,082.11, ending its three consecutive days of gain. Hang Seng Tech Index advanced 0.4 percent, with JD.com gaining 0.3 percent after the company announced a share buyback of as much as $3 billion over the next three years. The Shanghai Composite Inde

March 13, 2024

US Commerce secretary highlights 'tough' talks under way with chipmakers over grants

US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo reiterated Monday that "tough" talks have been under way with advanced semiconductor companies over grants to be awarded under a program to reinvigorate chip manufacturing in the United States. Speaking at a forum, Raimondo said that the US government has thus far received over 600 statements of interest from relevant companies, and that "leading-edge" companies alone have requested more than $70 billion in grants for their manufacturing pr

Feb. 27, 2024

Taiwan chip giant TSMC announces second Japan plant

TSMC will build a second foundry in Japan, the semiconductor giant and its local partners announced Tuesday, weeks before its first in the country officially opens. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company -- which counts Apple and Nvidia as clients -- controls more than half the world's output of silicon wafers, used in everything from smartphones to cars and missiles. In recent years, it has had to navigate geopolitical tussles between the United States and China as the two face off ove

Feb. 6, 2024

US industry group calls for multilateral chip export controls to address disadvantage over S. Korea, other allies

An American industry group has called on the US government to craft new multilateral chip equipment export controls, claiming the current strict unilateral ones put US firms at a disadvantage over their rivals from South Korea and other countries. The Semiconductor Industry Association made the call in their written comments sent to the Bureau of Industry and Security under the Commerce Department on Jan. 17, as it stressed the need for the new controls to ensure what it called a "level pla

Feb. 1, 2024

Samsung family ranks 12th wealthiest in Asia

South Korea's Samsung family, led by Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, has been ranked as the 12th wealthiest in Asia, according to recent data released by Bloomberg. The Samsung family is also the sole Korean conglomerate to be included among “Asia’s top 20 richest families” in the report. The Samsung family's assets amounted to $18.2 billion, securing the 12th position on the list, according to Bloomberg News on Wednesday. The latest ranking reflects a drop

Jan. 29, 2024