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☆ NYPD called to Silicon Valley Bank branch to respond to 'disorderly group' after SVB's shocking collapse
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

The NYPD responded to a Silicon Valley Bank branch in after a complaint about a "disorderly group." An NYPD spokesman told Insider that police responding didn't witness any crimes from those gathered. People had apparently gathered at the bank's New York branch to try to withdraw their money from the collapsing financial institution. When the NYPD responded, officers didn't witness any criminal acts, a spokesman for the New York Police Department told Insider. A representative for Silicon Valley Bank did not immediately respond to Insider's emailed request for comment on Friday.

☆ U.S.’s Asia Allies See New Threat From Balloons Amid China Spying Row
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Alastair Gale | Joyu Wang | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

America’s allies in Asia are raising their vigilance against high-altitude balloons after Washington accused Beijing of using them in a global spying program, ending years in which unannounced incursions by balloons have largely been tolerated in the region. Balloons of undeclared origin are seen each year around the Asia-Pacific region. One military officer in Taiwan with access to daily intelligence reports said suspected Chinese balloons are spotted by Taipei roughly once every quarter, mostly over Taiwan’s outlying islands near the Chinese coast.

WASHINGTON, Feb 7 (Reuters) - China declined a request for a phone call between U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe after Washington brought down a Chinese spy balloon, a Pentagon spokesperson said on Tuesday. The Pentagon submitted the request for a secure call on Saturday after the balloon came down, Brigadier General Pat Ryder said in a statement. "Unfortunately, the PRC (China) has declined our request. China has said it was a weather balloon that had blown off course into U.S. airspace and accused the United States of overreacting. Relations between China and the United States have been tense, with friction between the world's two largest economies over everything from Taiwan and China's human rights record to its military activity in the South China Sea.

☆ NBA roundup: Knicks rally from 21-point deficit to beat 76ers
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Miles McBride came off the bench to score 14 points while fellow reserve Isaiah Hartenstein had 14 rebounds. Joel Embiid (31 points, 14 rebounds), Tobias Harris (14 points, 10 rebounds) and James Harden (12 points, 12 assists) recorded double-doubles for the 76ers, who had their eight-game road winning streak snapped. De'Anthony Melton scored 14 points while Tyrese Maxey had 12 points and P.J. Scottie Barnes added 16 points and seven rebounds. Bruce Brown scored 16 and both Ish Smith and Zeke Nnaji scored 10 off the bench.

☆ Maduro negotiator says Venezuela government, opposition making progress on $3.2 billion humanitarian fund
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Vivian Sequera | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro delivers a speech in front of the Venezuelan Supreme Court of Justice magistrates during the opening of the new court term, in Caracas, Venezuela January 31, 2023. The opposition hopes the negotiations will help guarantee that elections tentatively scheduled for 2024 are held in fair conditions. Rodriguez did not offer details on what progress had been made toward creation of the humanitarian fund. The opposition's head negotiator, Gerardo Blyde, has said money from the frozen assets is spread across different jurisdictions, each with their own legal requirements. The opposition has said the money could be moved in small tranches to protect it from creditors.

☆ Turkey's lira slips to fresh record low, stocks tumble
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Turkey's lira hit a fresh record low and its stock markets tumbled on Monday as a major earthquake added to pressures from a strong dollar, geopolitical risks and surprise inflation readings out of the country. The lira slipped to 18.85 , in early trade before retracing most of its losses. More than 500 people were killed and thousands injured on Monday, after a major earthquake of magnitude 7.8 struck central Turkey and northwest Syria. But Turkey is feeling additional pressures. "A new window of FX volatility could be around the corner."

☆ Iran, Russia link banking systems amid Western sanction
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DUBAI, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Iran and Russia have connected their interbank communication and transfer systems to help boost trade and financial transactions, a senior Iranian official said on Monday, as both Tehran and Moscow are chafing under Western sanctions. Similar limitations have been slapped on some Russian banks since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine last year. "Iranian banks no longer need to use SWIFT ... with Russian banks, which can be for the opening of Letters of Credit and transfers or warranties," Deputy Governor of Iran's Central Bank, Mohsen Karimi, told the semi-official Fars news agency. Iran's Central Bank chief Mohammad Farzin welcomed the move. "The financial channel between Iran and the world is being repaired," he tweeted.

WASHINGTON, Jan 24 (Reuters) - The United States, in a reversal, appears to be dropping its opposition to sending M1 Abrams battle tanks to Ukraine and an announcement could come as soon as this week, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Tuesday. The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they were not aware of a final U.S. decision to send the Abrams to Ukraine, a move that could encourage Germany to follow. Such a decision by the United States would come just days after Washington argued against sending the Abrams, despite demands from Kyiv and public pressure from Berlin as it faced calls to send German-made Leopard battle tanks. Ukraine says heavily armored Western battle tanks would give its troops more mobility and protection ahead of a new Russian offensive that Kyiv expects in the near future. The disclosure about the softening U.S. position came the same day that Poland said it had submitted a formal request asking Germany to allow the re-export of its Leopard battle tanks to Ukraine.

☆ 'What crime?' Wagner chief questions U.S. sanctions
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Reuters Editorial | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

US Videos'What crime?' Wagner chief questions U.S. sanctionsPostedThe head of the Russian private military contractor Wagner published on Saturday a short letter to the White House asking what crime his company was accused of, after Washington announced new sanctions on the group. Tamara Lindstrom produced this report.

☆ Russia's Wagner chief writes to White House over new U.S. sanctions
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 21 (Reuters) - The head of the Russian private military contractor Wagner published on Saturday a short letter to the White House asking what crime his company was accused of, after Washington announced new sanctions on the group. White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said on Friday that Wagner, which has been supporting Russian forces in their invasion of Ukraine and claiming credit for battlefield advances, would be designated a significant Transnational Criminal Organization. Kirby called Wagner "a criminal organization that is committing widespread atrocities and human rights abuses". Last month, the White House said Wagner had taken delivery of an arms shipment from North Korea to help bolster Russian forces in Ukraine. Washington had already imposed curbs on trade with Wagner in 2017 and again in December in an attempt to restrict its access to weaponry.

☆ South Korea, Iran summon each other's envoys as spat over Yoon remarks deepens
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SEOUL, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Iran and South Korea summoned each other's envoys in a deepening spat over comments by South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol that described the Islamic republic as the enemy of the United Arab Emirates. Yoon, speaking to South Korean troops stationed in Abu Dhabi earlier this week, said South Korea and the UAE are under "very similar" circumstances, each facing North Korea and Iran as "the enemy, biggest threat." Relations between Seoul and Tehran had already been testy over frozen Iranian funds in South Korea and suspected arms dealings between Iran and North Korea. Iran has repeatedly demanded the release of some $7 billion of its funds frozen in South Korean banks under U.S. sanctions. South Korea was once one of Iran's biggest crude buyers in Asia, but ceased imports after Washington imposed sanctions on Tehran in 2018.

[1/2] U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attend the Japan-U.S.-Australia-India Fellowship Founding Celebration event, in Tokyo, Japan, May 24, 2022. Kishida is in Washington as the last stop in a tour of countries of the G7 industrial powers. U.S. and Japanese foreign and defense ministers met on Wednesday and announced stepped-up security cooperation and the U.S. officials Tokyo's praised military buildup plans. He called the Japanese defense reforms "really, really significant." Reporting by David Brunnstrom and Michael Martina; Editing by Don Durfee and Grant McCoolOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

REUTERS/Joshua RobertsWASHINGTON, Jan 11 (Reuters) - The United States and Japan on Wednesday announced stepped-up security cooperation in the face of shared worries about China, and Washington strongly endorsed a major military buildup Tokyo announced last month. At the briefing, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced plans to introduce a Marine Littoral Regiment in Japan, which would bring significant capabilities, including anti-ship missiles. A senior administration official told Reuters that Biden and Kishida are expected to discuss security issues and the global economy and that their talks are likely to include control of semiconductor exports to China after Washington announced strict curbs last year. The large U.S. presence has fueled local resentment, with Okinawa's government asking other parts of Japan to host some of the force. In total, there are about 54,000 U.S. troops in Japan.

☆ Sony plans smartphone sensor factory in Japan - Nikkei
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 15 (Reuters) - Sony Group Corp (6758.T) is considering building a new factory to make smartphone image sensors in the Kumamoto prefecture of Japan, Nikkei reported on Thursday. The company plans to break ground on the plant as soon as 2024, and bring it online in fiscal 2025 at the earliest, the report said, adding the company expects the cost to run into the billions of dollars. Japan, which long ago lost its lead on chip manufacturing, particularly advanced semiconductors, is rushing to take advantage after Washington restricted Beijing's access to the technology and asked its allies to do the same. Sony plans to source chips from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co's (2330.TW) planned chip plant in the area, the report said. ($1 = 137.8500 yen)Reporting by Chavi Mehta in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini GanguliOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ China challenges US chip curbs at WTO, citing ‘trade protectionism’
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

On October 7, the Biden administration unveiled a sweeping set of export controls that ban Chinese companies from buying advanced chips and chip-making equipment without a license. The commerce ministry blasted the US move as threatening global supply chain stability and called it “a typical practice of trade protectionism.” The complaint is the first action China has taken at the global trade body against the US chip sanctions. It also comes as the United States is looking to bolster its domestic chip manufacturing abilities, after chip shortages earlier in the pandemic highlighted the country’s dependence on imports from abroad. He called for both countries to boost cooperation in high-tech manufacturing and avoid “the politicization of economic and trade issues.”Chips are a growing source of tension between the United States and China. Before the October sanctions, the US government had already banned sales of certain tech products to specific Chinese companies, such as Huawei.

The proposal from the U.S. Trade Representative's office to be negotiated with the European Union would create a "club" of countries seeking to reduce carbon emissions. Countries with emissions exceeding the standards would pay higher tariffs when exporting metals to countries with lower emissions, the sources briefed on the plans said. Countries with steel and aluminum plant emissions at or below the standards would pay lower tariffs, the sources said. U.S. steelmakers claim to have the world’s lowest carbon emissions levels, in part because 70% of American steel is made from scrap iron in electric-arc furnaces rather than coal-fired blast furnaces. The U.S.-EU talks on low-carbon steel have been aimed in large part at China, which relies on coal for most of its steel output as well as low-grade iron ore that contributes to high carbon emissions.

More than a year after Washington, London and Canberra torpedoed a big French submarine contract, pushing Franco-US relations to breaking point, the two countries are expected to put on a show of unity on common threats from Russia and China. The French leader will try to negotiate exemptions for European companies on the model of those Mexico and Canada has already got, a French presidential adviser said. Macron wants France to build more nuclear reactors but it is struggling with corrosion issues at its ageing plants. Macron will also travel to Louisiana, ostensibly to pay tribute to the state's French heritage, but also to discuss energy issues, the French presidential advisor said. "The United States produce cheap gas but sell it to us at high price," Macron told French executives on November 8.

☆ Germany must trade with China warily, economy minister says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN, Nov 23 (Reuters) - No one is suggesting Germany should stop trading with China, but Beijing's investments in critical sectors must be examined closely, German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said on Wednesday. "Nothing speaks against continuing to maintain economic relations with China," Habeck said at a conference organised by the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper in Berlin. "That means in the critical sectors of our economy, we have to judge and prohibit the strategic influence of critical investments," Habeck said. Germany is seeking to reduce its dependence on Beijing and is developing a new China strategy, but it could be a tricky task with deep trade ties between Europe's and Asia's biggest economies. From a European point of view, the Act is a violation of the World Trade Organization's rules that cannot be accepted in the long term, the minister said.

☆ Chip-Making Juggernaut TSMC Eyes Multibillion-Dollar Arizona Factory Expansion
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Asa Fitch | Yang Jie | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

TSMC’s big bet on making chips in the U.S. comes after Washington agreed to provide semiconductor makers lucrative grants. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world’s largest contract chip maker, is preparing another multibillion-dollar factory investment in Arizona, people familiar with the plans said. TSMC plans in the coming months to announce it will build a cutting-edge semiconductor plant north of Phoenix, beside another chip factory that the company committed to in 2020, according to people familiar with the expansion plans. The scale of the investment is expected to be roughly similar to the $12 billion it committed two years ago, the people said.

☆ China’s second-largest chipmaker poised for $2.5 billion IPO in Shanghai
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SHANGHAI, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Chinese chip manufacturer Hua Hong Semiconductor Ltd (1347.HK) has received regulatory approval for an 18 billion yuan ($2.5 billion) IPO in Shanghai, according to a filing published late on Friday on the Hong Kong stock exchange. The proceeds from the IPO will also go to upgrading the latter fab, according to its prospectus. Hua Hong’s Shanghai IPO will follow that of China’s Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC) (0981.HK), which, like Hua Hong, went public on Shanghai’s tech-centric STAR market in 2020 after it listed in Hong Kong years earlier. Hua Hong’s planned IPO comes after Washington passed unprecedented export controls on Chinese chip makers. Hua Hong specializes in mature technology, and generates most of its revenue making chips using 55-nanometer process technology.

☆ China says U.S. has 'no right' to interfere in Hamburg port deal
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING, Nov 3 (Reuters) - The U.S has "no right" to interfere in Chinese cooperation with Germany, China's foreign ministry said Thursday, after Washington cautioned against Beijing getting a controlling stake in Hamburg's port terminal. U.S. interference is symptomatic of its practice of coercive diplomacy, foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters at a daily briefing in Beijing. Chinese shipping giant Cosco made a bid last year to take a 35% stake in one of logistics firm HHLA's (HHFGn.DE) three terminals in Germany's largest port, but Germany's coalition was divided over the deal. Last week the German cabinet approved a 24.9% stake investment by Cosco in what an economy ministry source described as an "emergency solution" to approve the deal but mitigate the impact. Reporting by Eduardo Baptista, Writing by Martin Quin Pollard; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky and Kim CoghillOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ U.S. chipmaker Marvell cutting some R&D roles in China - statement
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Josh Horwitz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"In China, we will focus our R&D investments on local customers and the China market," Stacey Keegan, vice president of Corporate Marketing at Marvell said in a written response to questions sent from Reuters. Domestic China media outlet iJiwei reported late on Wednesday, citing unnamed industry sources, that Marvell planned to lay off a large proportion of its research and development team in China. The company's move comes as chipmakers brace for slowing demand following a boom at the peak of a global chip shortage. read moreAmid the geopolitical tensions, a number of U.S.-based companies have scaled back ther R&D operations in China. In January, fellow U.S.-based chipmaker Micron Technology Inc (MU.O) shut down its its DRAM R&D center in Shanghai citing shifting investment priorities.

Some of the electronics obtained through the scheme have been found in Russian weapons platforms seized in Ukraine, prosecutors said. They used a German company to ship the military technologies, as well as Venezuelan oil, to Russian purchasers, prosecutors said. The U.S.-origin technologies can be used in fighter aircraft, ballistic and hypersonic missile systems, smart munitions, and other military applications, Treasury said. After the initial round of U.S. sanctions on PDVSA, Russia's Rosneft emerged as a key intermediary for Venezuelan crude. After Washington sanctioned Rosneft subsidiaries over their dealings with PDVSA, dozens of firms with no track record of oil trading have been intermediating in sales of Venezuelan oil to Chinese buyers.

☆ Apple freezes plans to use China's YMTC chips - Nikkei
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Oct 17 (Reuters) - U.S. tech giant Apple Inc (AAPL.O) has put on hold plans to use memory chips from China's Yangtze Memory Technologies Co (YMTC) in its products, after Washington imposed tighter export controls against Chinese technology companies, the Nikkei reported on Monday. Apple had originally planned to start using state-funded YMTC's NAND flash memory chips as early as this year, Nikkei said, citing people familiar with the matter. The chips were initially planned to be used only for iPhones sold in the Chinese market. It was considering eventually purchasing up to 40% of the chips needed for all iPhones from YMTC, the newspaper said. Apple did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment, while YMTC declined to comment.

☆ Xi's call to win tech race points to new wave of Chinese state-led spending
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Josh Horwitz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The term "technology" was referred to 40 times, up from 17 times in the report from the 2017 congress. Iris Pang, chief economist for Greater China at ING, said Xi's remarks addressed "the urgent need for talent and promoting self-sufficiency in technological advancement". "As such research spending on semiconductor technology should increase. On Monday, shares in Chinese information technology companies (.CSIINT) rose more than 1%, while semiconductor stocks (.CSIH30184) rose 0.7%. Venture capital (VC) has been allowed to invest in Chinese chip companies, with such firms receiving over $30 billion in VC cash between 2020-2021, according to Chinese investment research firm CVInfo.

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