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Real-time News
August 13th - According to foreign media reports, foreign investment in Japans chip industry has reached 6 trillion yen (approximately US$37 billion), a figure further expanded with recent announcements by Sony and TSMC of plans to build image sensor factories. TSMC has already invested 3 trillion yen in its two wafer fabs in Japan. The first fab is scheduled to begin mass production of logic chips in 2024, while the second is currently under construction. Micron Technology launched an expansion project for its Hiroshima Prefecture plant last month, planning to invest 1.5 trillion yen to produce advanced memory chips, crucial for artificial intelligence data centers. Also in July, Israeli chipmaker Tower Semiconductor announced a 600 billion yen investment to mass-produce chips for optical communication equipment used in data centers.August 13 - According to an assessment by the Netherlands-based Triodos Bank, the extreme heatwave that hit Europe this summer will cost EU countries approximately €180 billion in economic losses, roughly equivalent to 1% of the EUs GDP in 2025. However, the data does not include the associated losses due to human casualties.On August 13th, Alvin Liew, senior economist at United Overseas Bank (UOB) in Singapore, stated in a report that US inflation may have peaked in the second quarter, but uncertainty surrounding energy prices means inflation could still rise again. Liew noted that declining energy prices have helped curb inflation. However, he stated, "Energy prices remain high… If oil prices rise again, geopolitical tensions in the Middle East could quickly reverse the recent cooling of inflation." The bank projects that the average increase in US overall CPI and core CPI in 2026 will be approximately 3.5% and 2.8%, respectively.August 13 - According to Irans Fars News Agency, Hossein Taeb, head of an Iranian militia group, claimed that the Strait of Hormuz is "under Iranian control and management."On August 13th, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the Ministry of Emergency Management jointly issued the "15th Five-Year Plan for the Development of the Safety and Emergency Equipment Industry." The plan proposes that by 2030, the scale, technological level, product quality, application depth, and breadth of the safety and emergency equipment industry will be significantly improved. The industry scale in key areas will reach 1.4 trillion yuan. Breakthroughs will be achieved in a number of key core technologies, forming a number of internationally leading iconic products. A number of key application scenarios for safety and emergency equipment will be built, and a number of safety and emergency equipment with high technological levels and significant application effects will be promoted, further improving the level of safety and emergency product allocation in households and communities. Ten highly competitive safety and emergency equipment industrial clusters and 70 specialized safety and emergency equipment industrial parks will be established. A number of internationally competitive leading enterprises will be formed, and a number of specialized, refined, and innovative "little giant" enterprises and manufacturing single-item champion enterprises will be cultivated. In addition, the plan details 15 specific tasks in four aspects: strengthening industrial innovation, promoting equipment application, cultivating and expanding industrial entities, and optimizing the industrial ecosystem.
