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HONG KONG, Dec 1 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Covid-19 lockdowns and protests across China have highlighted the risks of the mutual dependence between Taiwan's Foxconn and its top customer Apple (AAPL.O). It makes 70% of the world’s iPhones, according to Fubon Research. Meanwhile Apple’s huge investments into Foxconn have paid off: the U.S. company is the most profitable smartphone maker by far. Foxconn has been scrambling to contain the fallout, offering bonuses to temporary workers and shifting production to other facilities. At the time, Foxconn said it was bringing the situation under control and was coordinating with other plants to increase production.

HONG KONG, Nov 24 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Pershing Square boss Bill Ackman is taking another tilt at the Hong Kong dollar , betting the government will be forced to break its link to the greenback. His logic is stronger today than when he took the plunge in 2011 but it’s up to Beijing, not Hong Kong. Back then Ackman famously predicted that the Hong Kong Monetary Authority would allow the local currency to strengthen against the U.S. dollar. A secular decline in Hong Kong might ultimately sabotage the peg at some point. On the other hand, Hong Kong is a city, not a country.

☆ In memoriam: Notable deaths of 2022
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Jeremy Schultz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Madeleine Albright, 84, who fled the Nazis as a child in her native Czechoslovakia during World War Two then rose to become the first female U.S. secretary of state and, in her later years, a pop culture feminist icon, passed away in March. She was a...moreMadeleine Albright, 84, who fled the Nazis as a child in her native Czechoslovakia during World War Two then rose to become the first female U.S. secretary of state and, in her later years, a pop culture feminist icon, passed away in March. She was a tough-talking diplomat in an administration that hesitated to involve itself in the two biggest foreign policy crises of the 1990s - the genocides in Rwanda and Bosnia-Herzegovina. She once upset a Pentagon chief by asking why the military maintained more than 1 million men and women under arms if they never used them. REUTERS/FileClose

HONG KONG, Nov 17 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Naspers (NPNJn.J) has a new Tencent (0700.HK) quandary. In June, they launched an open-ended plan to gradually sell Tencent shares and use the proceeds to repurchase stock in both companies. The problem, however, is that Tencent stock has underperformed that of Naspers and Prosus. Over the same period Naspers shares rose 6% while those of its Dutch subsidiary are down 19%. “The Naspers Board and Prosus Board reiterate their continued confidence in Tencent's long term prospects and continue to believe that the share repurchase programme is in the best interests of Prosus, Naspers and their respective shareholders," they said in a statement.

They underscore the importance of educating Black voters on the significance of the Dec. 6 runoff between Warnock and Republican contender Herschel Walker. Yet voting rights organizations supporting Warnock say Black voters they’ve spoken with remain energized because expanding Democrats’ majority in the Senate even by a single seat would have a significant impact. Les Talusan / Courtesy MoveOnIn last week’s election, Warnock received 90% of the Black vote, compared to Walker’s 8%, according to an NBC News exit poll. “All the elements we’re talking about impact mostly Black voters,” Albright said. And tired or not, Black voters will come out for the runoff.”Follow NBCBLK on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

HONG KONG, Nov 1 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Hong Kong’s third-quarter GDP plunged 4.5% from a year earlier as consumers and companies slashed spending. The government is trying to rally enthusiasm for its finance sector - as signaled by the flagship Fintech Week and Global Financial Leaders Investment Summit events happening this week. Beijing's commitment to stamping out Covid-19 infections on the mainland has halted vital flows of tourists and business people to Hong Kong. Moreover, Hong Kong's currency peg to the U.S. dollar means it must follow the U.S. Federal Reserve's rate hikes even though its inflation rate is less than half that in the United States. "Looking ahead, the markedly deteriorating external environment will continue to pose immense pressure on Hong Kong's export performance in the remainder of the year," the city government said.

☆ Malinin lands another quadruple axel for Skate America gold
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Oct 22, 2022; Norwood, Massachusetts, USA; Ilia Malinin (USA) performs in the men's free program at Tenley E. Albright Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-USA TODAY SportsOct 23 (Reuters) - American Ilia Malinin landed only the second quadruple axel in competitive figure skating history at Skate America on Saturday, a month after he executed the move for the first time at a lower-level event. read moreSkating to "Euphoria" by Labrinth, he repeated the feat to thunderous applause during his free skate at his senior Grand Prix debut to take gold. Malinin had previously said that he was inspired by double Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu, who unsuccessfully attempted the quadruple axle during his free skate at the Beijing Olympics. Skate America is the first of six events in the International Skating Union Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series.

HONG KONG, Oct 19 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Solving Hong Kong's brain drain problem need not be complicated. Leader John Lee hopes lower property taxes and a new visa scheme will persuade foreign talent not to move to destinations like Singapore. As a result, Hong Kong's mid-year population dipped 1.6% to 7.29 million - the steepest year-on-year drop on record. Non-residents are also eligible to apply for a refund of the extra stamp duty paid for buying property in Hong Kong once they become a permanent resident. Lee may be ignoring them, but the main policy solutions are staring him in the face.

☆ Xi wanted China to be at the tech frontier. 5 years on, tensions with the U.S. have dented that goal
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

Major Chinese technology firms have been put on export blacklists since then. Looking ahead, the latest package of U.S. controls will make a huge dent in China's technology ambitions. Paul Triolo technology policy lead, Albright StonebridgeThings did not look as "bleak" for China's semiconductors in 2017 as they do now, Triolo said. China's tech crackdownA major hallmark of Xi's last five years is how he has transformed China into one of the strictest regulatory regimes globally for technology. China's technology giants are also posting their slowest growth in history, partly due to tighter regulations.

HONG KONG, Oct 14 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The world is facing a difficult 2023 as growth slows in most developed economies. The world economy will expand by 2.7% in 2023, per the IMF. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterChina’s contribution to global growth will be more than three times greater than the United States. The South Asian nation produces roughly 3% of world GDP. Even if it expands by 6.1% as forecast, it will account for just 7.7% of global growth.

HONG KONG, Oct 11 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Washington's sweeping technology curbs on China today will have ripple effects across global supply chains tomorrow. But the ban may prompt Chinese chipmakers to hasten their progress in the commoditised parts of the market, embedding firms like Semiconductor Manufacturing International (0981.HK) in global supply chains. The measures mark a huge escalation in President Joe Biden's efforts to hobble Beijing's chip advances. Essentially, any company that uses American equipment will be restricted from selling relatively high-tech semiconductors or tools to Chinese firms. And because nearly every factory relies on crucial hardware and software from U.S. suppliers like Lam Research (LRCX.O) and Applied Materials (AMAT.O), the latest move potentially sets back Chinese chipmakers by years, if not decades.

HONG KONG, Oct 7 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Too much cash can be a problem sometimes, especially in South Korea. Samsung Electronics (005930.KS), meanwhile, may find that deploying its $77 billion war chest is getting trickier. The company estimates third-quarter operating profit at 10.8 trillion won ($7.7 billion), down 32% from a year earlier and below analysts’ expectations. Prices for so-called DRAM and NAND memory chips, a highly cyclical sector that's Samsung's biggest profit driver, have yet to bottom out. CONTEXT NEWSSouth Korea's Samsung Electronics on Oct. 7 announced earnings guidance for the third quarter of 2022.

☆ The U.S. and its allies are joining forces on chips. That could stop China reaching the next level
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Leading chipmaking nations including the U.S. are forming alliances, in part to secure their semiconductor supply chain and to stop China from reaching the cutting-edge of the industry, analysts told CNBC. But the semiconductor supply chain is complex — it includes areas ranging from design to packaging to manufacturing and the tools that are required to do that. "The other geopolitical significance is just related to Taiwan's central role in the semiconductor supply chain. Alliances being built that exclude ChinaBecause of the complexity of the chip supply chain, no country can go it alone. One is about bringing together countries, each with their "comparative advantages," to "string together alliances that can develop secure chips," Kotasthane said.

REUTERS/Steve Marcus - RC28BE9D5MZ7HONG KONG, Sept 20 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Seoul's foot-dragging on climate change is holding back Korea Inc. Last week the country's top conglomerate, Samsung Electronics (005930.KS), unveiled an underwhelming net-zero carbon emissions target. Most of that is probably from electricity for factories in South Korea, where renewable power is scarce. Yet President Yoon Suk-yeol's administration plans to lower its renewable-energy target for 2030, favouring nuclear power instead. The company has also joined RE100, a group of global corporations including Apple, Intel and TSMC that are committed to using 100% renewable energy across their own operations. Renewable energy will account for 21.5% of generation capacity by 2030, down from the previous target of 30.2%.

Tens of thousands of people are scrambling for homeowners insurance in Louisiana at the peak of hurricane season after recent storms drove their carriers out of business. Massive claims from those storms drove large national insurance companies to scale back their coverage and remaining companies to jack up rates. The strategy seemed to work: Rates eventually stabilized, although Louisiana remained one of the most expensive states for homeowners insurance. That pushed the small insurance companies to their financial limits and squeezed reinsurers, who raised their rates. The state insurer’s rolls, which totaled 34,500 in August 2020, ballooned to about 110,000 last week.

☆ China had a plan to dominate tech and become the world's most powerful country. It's all gone wrong.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-08 | by ( Linette Lopez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

Semiconductor chips are the tiny brains that power our technological world, from cars and cellphones to fighter jets and advanced missile systems. Right now China is awash in money for tech, but you need the right people and customers that trust you. Why China needs the chipsThe Chinese economy is big, but it isn't wealthy. In other words, China needs a more lucrative line of business the same way someone with credit-card debt needs a raise. The Made in China 2025 plan lays out a goal for domestically manufactured chips to meet 70% of China's semiconductor needs within three years.

Potrivit lui, unii „îndrăznesc” public să spună că Siberia aparține în mod nedrept unei singure țări. Putin a subliniat că Rusia nu este „ pe calea militarizării economiei noastre.”„Avem 3 trilioane 116 miliarde de ruble alocate pentru apărarea națională în acest an. Jurnalistul Dmitri Kolezev a atras atenția asupra faptului că fraza lui Putin că Rusiei „pe nedrept îi aparține Siberia” a fost inventată și nici unul dintre politicieni din lume nu a rostit-o vreodată. Citatul este atribuit fostului secretar de stat american Madeleine Albright, dar ea nu a spus niciodată acest lucru și ea însăși a explicat într-un interviu că declarația este inventată. „La urma urmei, am auzit de multe ori de la oficiali că este nedrept ca Siberia, cu bogățiile sale incomensurabile, să aparțină doar Rusiei", a mai spus el.

Persons: Putin, Alexandru al III - lea, Dmitri Kolezev, american Madeleine Albright, Președintele, Alexander Sibert Organizations: american, Nucleară Locations: Siberia, Rusia, Unite, Rusiei, Novosibirsk

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