World

TOKYO : Japan's trade ministry is ready to back Western Digital's bid to merge with memory chipmaker Kioxia provided control of cutting edge technology stays in Japan, two sources with knowledge of the industry regulator's internal discussions said. The tie-up could give Japan greater leverage in geopolitical rivalries increasingly dominated by technology, including over shortages of chips. It could also help Japan forge deeper semiconductor industry ties with its U.S. ally, a commitment that President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Suga made in April. "We will give our support to the indispensable, important semiconductor capacity innovation in Japan," one of the sources told Reuters. Western Digital would need to present a plan that both Japan and the United States "can celebrate," the s...

Select’s editorial team works independently to review financial products and write articles we think our readers will find useful. We may receive a commission when you click on links for products from our affiliate partners. When you're a first-generation American, building wealth can be quite difficult. Your family is navigating an unfamiliar financial system and you're trying to teach them while also teaching yourself. What's more, many of our families only learn how to do the necessary basics to survive — open a savings account and pay down debt — but they don't learn how to thrive. According a report from the St. Louis Federal Reserve, the median income of a foreign-born American is $20,400 a year, while a native-born American makes $28,000, so immigrant and first-generation families ...

:Fitch Ratings cut the ratings of China Evergrande Group and two of its subsidiaries on Wednesday, the latest in a series of downgrades targeting the property firm over its struggles to restructure huge debts. Regulators have warned that Evergrande's 1.97 trillion yuan (US$304.79 billion) of liabilities could spark broader risks to the country's financial system if not stabilised. Fitch said in a statement that it had downgraded the long-term foreign-currency issuer default ratings of Evergrande and subsidiaries Hengda Real Estate Group Co and Tianji Holding Ltd to CC from CCC+. Fitch defines a CC rating as indicating "very high levels" of credit risk. Fitch also downgraded the senior unsecured ratings of Evergrande and Tianji, as well as the rating on Tianji-guaranteed senior unsecured...

Good news for travelers from countries and territories including the U.K. and Pakistan. Amid the constantly changing pandemic situation and falling coronavirus cases in some parts of the world as inoculation campaigns pick up steam, Japan has relaxed its strict quarantine measures for about two dozen countries and regions. The changes will take effect Saturday. Following the latest revision, travelers from India, the Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Zambia will no longer be covered by a 10-day mandatory quarantine in government-designated facilities. Their stay in such facilities will be shortened to six days, and there is a requirement to undergo tests for COVID-19 on arrival and on the third and sixth days. Only those who test negative will be allowed to move to facilities of their choo...

:U.S. oil major Exxon Mobil Corp, along with Chevron Corp, is seeking to bulk up in the burgeoning renewable fuels space by finding ways to make such products at existing facilities, sources familiar with the efforts said. The two largest U.S. oil companies want to produce sustainable fuels without ponying up billions of dollars that some refineries are spending to reconfigure operations to make such products. Renewable fuels account for 5per cent of U.S. fuel consumption, but are poised to grow as various sectors adapt to cut overall carbon emissions to combat global climate change. Both Chevron and Exxon have massive refining divisions that contribute heavily to their overall carbon emissions. The companies have been criticized for a less urgent approach to renewable investments than E...

PHNOM PEHN: China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi is visiting Cambodia, where he is expected to meet with Prime Minister Hun Sen and other officials to discuss COVID-19 and other regional issues. Cambodia's foreign ministry said Wang's meetings on Sunday (Sep 12) and Monday would include discussions of trade and security as well. Wrapping up a visit to neighboring Vietnam on Saturday, Wang said China planned to donate 3 million vaccine doses to the country, which is under a lockdown to contain a COVID-19 surge. China is Cambodia’s biggest investor and closest political partner. Beijing’s support allows Cambodia to disregard Western concerns about its poor record in human and political rights, and in turn Cambodia generally supports Beijing’s geopolitical positions on issues such as its terri...

TOKYO : Toyota Motor Corp cut its annual production target by 300,000 vehicles on Friday as rising COVID-19 infections slowed output at parts factories in Vietnam and Malaysia, compounding a global shortage of auto chips. "It's a combination of the coronavirus and semiconductors, but at the moment it is the coronavirus that is having the overwhelming impact," Kazunari Kumakura, an executive at the world's biggest car maker, said after the company revised its production target. Unlike other big global automakers that were forced earlier to scale back production plans, Toyota had managed to avoid cuts to output because it had stockpiled key components along a supply chain hardened against disruption following northeast Japan's devastating earthquake in 2011. The Japanese carmakers' announ...

WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden talked with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping for the first time in seven months on Thursday (Sep 9), urging they ensure that "competition" between the two powers does not become "conflict", the White House said. During the call, Biden's message was that the United States wants to ensure "the dynamic remains competitive and that we don't have any situation in the future where we veer into unintended conflict", a senior US administration official told reporters. This was the leaders' first call since February, when they talked for two hours, shortly after Biden took over from Donald Trump. US-China relations went into a nosedive under Trump, who launched a trade war between the world's number one and two economies. Biden's administration, while urging ...

Following the chaotic exit of American forces and civilians from Afghanistan, the world is struggling to understand the implications of the humiliating U.S. defeat in the 20-year war. Pundits fear that the U.S. will eventually abandon its strategic allies and partners throughout the world — especially in East Asia and the Middle East — similarly to the way it did so in Afghanistan. They also accuse the U.S. of abdicating its leadership in upholding human rights and maintaining global stability. But these views are short-sighted, missing critical aspects of the emerging Biden doctrine. U.S. President Joe Biden’s foreign policy orientation reflects two seemingly contradictory perspectives in international relations. One is a political realism that emphasizes great power politics in world ...

In one of the first tests of the appetite of the business community for global gatherings, Germany's auto show in Munich this week has seen many major car companies like Toyota and Jaguar's Land Rover choosing to stay away. German airline Lufthansa has nevertheless seen demand for its regional flights between Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Belgium jump 15 per cent in recent weeks, and rise 30 per cent for flights within Germany, chief executive Carsten Spohr said. Lufthansa is putting on more flights for business travellers in September, but it only expects a return to 90 per cent of pre-pandemic trips in the long term. COUNTING THE COST Pre-pandemic, airlines made the bulk of their profits from business travel because companies are more likely to book at short notice and are prepar...