Electronics giant Samsung says it plans to invest around 300tn won ($230.8bn) over 20 years in the South Korean government’s push to develop a mega semiconductor hub in the country. This will be put towards building five chip factories, the firm said. Samsung is the world’s biggest maker of memory chips, smartphones and TVs. Under the official plan, companies in high-tech industries will be offered incentives like expanded tax breaks and infrastructure support. “The mega cluster will be the key base of our semiconductor ecosystem,” South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said in a statement on Wednesday. It said … Continue reading Samsung to invest in South Korea mega chip-making plan

Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, has announced plans to cut 10,000 jobs. It will be the second wave of mass redundancies from the tech giant, which laid off 11,000 employees last November. Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said the cuts – part of a “year of efficiency” – would be “tough” In addition to the 10,000 jobs cut, 5,000 vacancies at the firm will be left unfilled, he told staff. In a memo, Mr Zuckerberg told employees he believed the company had suffered “a humbling wake-up call” in 2022 when it experienced a dramatic slowdown in revenue. Meta previously announced … Continue reading Facebook owner Meta to cut 10,000 jobs in massive layoff

Vinyl record sales outperformed CDs in the US for the first time since 1987, according to a new report. Just over 41 million vinyl records were sold in 2022, to the tune of $1.2bn. Only 33 million CDs were sold, amounting to $483m. It was the 16th consecutive year of growth for record sales, about 71% of physical format revenues. Recorded music revenue in the US grew for the seventh consecutive year and reached a record high of $15.9bn. Overall, revenue for recorded music in 2022 increased by 6%, according to the report released by the Recording Industry Association of America … Continue reading Vinyl records outsell CDs for first time in decades

A US court has ruled that “gig” economy giants including Uber and Lyft can continue treating their workers as independent contractors in the state of California. The California appeals court found that a labour measure, known as Proposition 22, was largely constitutional. Labour groups and some workers had opposed the measure, saying it robbed them of rights like sick leave. The firms say the proposition protects other benefits such as flexibility. The latest ruling overturns a decision made by a lower court in California in 2021, which found that Proposition 22 affected lawmakers’ powers to set standards at the workplace. … Continue reading US court rules Uber and Lyft workers are contractors

Japanese billionaire Masatoshi Ito, who helped turn 7-Eleven convenience stores into a global business empire, has died aged 98. He died last Friday from old age, operator Seven & i Holdings said in a statement. “We would like to express our sincere gratitude to him for his kindness during his lifetime,” the firm said. There are more than 83,000 7-Eleven stores around the world, with a quarter of them located in Japan. In 1956, Mr Ito took over a small Tokyo apparel store business that had been run by his uncle then half-brother. Mr Ito later renamed it Ito-Yokado and turned … Continue reading Icon: Masatoshi Ito, billionaire who made 7-Eleven a global giant, dies at 98

Saudi oil giant Aramco has announced a record profit of $161.1bn for 2022, helped by soaring energy prices and bigger volumes. It represents a 46.5% rise for the state-owned company, compared with last year. It is the latest energy firm to report record profits, after energy prices spiked following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. America’s ExxonMobil made $55.7bn, and Britain’s Shell reported $39.9bn. Aramco also declared a dividend of $19.5bn for the October to December quarter of 2022, to be paid in the first quarter of this year. Most of that will go to the Saudi government, … Continue reading Saudi state-owned oil giant sees record profit of $161bn

The Dutch government says before the summer it will put restrictions on the country’s “most advanced” chip exports to protect its national security, following a similar move by the US. It will include technology produced by computer chip equipment maker ASML. ASML is one of the most important firms in the global microchip supply chain. Semiconductors, which power everything from mobile phones to military hardware, are at the centre of a bitter dispute between the US and China. The measures will affect “very specific technologies in the semiconductor production cycle,” the country’s trade minister Liesje Schreinemacher said. “The Netherlands considers … Continue reading Netherlands moves to restrict some exports amid US-China chip dispute

The head of the US central bank has warned that officials could raise interest rates farther and faster than previously expected in order to stabilise prices. US stocks fell and the dollar rose following the remarks, which come just a few weeks before the bank is due to make another rates announcement. Many analysts had been expecting another 0.25 percentage point increase. But the comments suggest the bank could move more aggressively. Over the last year, the Fed has raised its benchmark rate to more than 4.5% – the highest rate since 2007 – responding to prices rising at the … Continue reading US interest rates could go higher than expected

The name “gruyere” can now be used to label cheeses from outside of the Gruyère region of Switzerland and France, a US appeals court has ruled. The Virginia court upheld a ruling stating that the US does not have the same strict rules as Europe on the designation of origin for foods. It agreed that “gruyere” can legally be used to describe cheese regardless of where it was made. The decision is seen as a victory for US dairy groups. “Cheese – regardless of its location of production – has been labelled and sold as gruyere in America for decades,” … Continue reading Court rules that US-made cheese can also be called ‘gruyere’

Toblerone is to remove the Matterhorn mountain peak from its packaging when some of the chocolate’s production is moved from Switzerland to Slovakia. The pyramid-shaped bar, which mirrors the Alpine peak, will undergo a labelling revamp and include its founder’s signature, its maker said. US firm Mondelez said the image of the 4,478m (14,692 ft) mountain will be replaced by a more generic summit. Strict rules have applied about “Swissness” since 2017. They state that national symbols are not allowed to be used to promote milk-based products that are not made exclusively in Switzerland. For other raw foodstuffs the threshold … Continue reading Toblerone: Swiss rules mean chocolate bar to drop Matterhorn from packaging

Apple’s biggest supplier Foxconn says its revenue last month fell by 11.65% compared to the same period in 2022 due to weaker demand for electronics. However, February revenue was more than $13bn, the second highest figure on record for the month. Foxconn added that operations at the world’s biggest iPhone factory in the Chinese city of Zhengzhou are recovering from Covid-19 disruptions. Also over the weekend the firm said it was exploring opportunities in India. Foxconn said in a statement on Sunday that revenue from computing, smart consumer electronics and cloud and networking products declined in February from a year earlier … Continue reading iPhone maker Foxconn sees revenue slump as demand weakens

Billionaire technology dealmaker Bao Fan is cooperating with Chinese authorities conducting an investigation, his bank says. China Renaissance Holdings reported that he had gone missing 10 days ago. Mr Bao is the chief executive and founder of China Renaissance Holdings and a leading deal broker in China whose clients include top technology companies Didi and Meituan. The firm’s shares slumped after Mr Bao went missing but rose on Monday. “The Board has become aware that Mr Bao is currently cooperating in an investigation being carried out by certain authorities in the People’s Republic of China,” the bank said in a filing … Continue reading Missing Chinese billionaire Bao Fan assisting authorities, firm says