CHINA
Demand hits manufacturing
Manufacturing activity in China contracted for the third straight month last month, HSBC data showed yesterday, caused by luckluster demand amid turbulence in the US and Europe. The HSBC purchasing managers’ index stood at 49.9 last month — the same as in August — up from 49.3 in July, which was the first contraction in a year, the British banking giant said in a statement. A reading above 50 indicates the sector is expanding, while a reading below 50 suggests contraction.
SOUTH KOREA
Output slows in August
South Korea’s industrial output rose at a slower-than-expected pace in August, official figures showed yesterday, as the uncertain global economic outlook took its toll on local manufacturers. Output rose 4.8 percent in August from the same month a year earlier, following a revised 4 percent increase in July. The output figure, which measures production in mining and manufacturing, shrank 1.9 percent compared with a month earlier, Statistics Korea said. It was the second consecutive month-on-month contraction following a revised 0.3 percent decline in July.
ECONOMY
Brazil cuts growth forecast
Brazil has lowered the economic growth expectations of Latin America’s largest economy this year. In a report released on Thursday, the central bank said it reduced from 4 percent to 3.5 percent its GDP growth forecast for this year. The report said the reduced growth expectations are the result of the international economic crisis, adding that the central bank may again lower the country’s key interest to help spur the economy.
ECONOMY
Australia focuses on deficit
The Australian government said it remains committed to returning to surplus next fiscal year with new figures showing a slightly smaller than predicted deficit in the last year. Government data released yesterday showed the deficit for the year ended June 30, 2011, was A$47.7 billion (US$46.6 billion) — A$1.6 billion less than predicted in May and 3.4 percent of GDP. The slightly better outcome was the result of government cash outlays being less than expected. Australian Treasurer Wayne Swan said Australia would return to surplus in 2012-2013.
FINANCE
BofA card charges planned
Bank of America Corp (BofA) plans to introduce a US$5 monthly debit card usage fee for many of its account holders beginning early next year, the company said on Thursday. The largest US bank by assets is implementing the fee to recoup lost revenue caused by new industry regulations introduced since the 2008 financial crisis limiting overdraft and other fees. Customers who use the debit card for purchases will be assessed the fee. It will be waived for the bank’s premium or platinum privileges accounts tied to the Merrill Lynch brokerage.
TECHNOLOGY
HP chiefs reap rewards
Ousted Hewlett-Packard chief executive Leo Apotheker is leaving with compensation worth at least US$13.2 million while his successor, Meg Whitman, will receive an annual salary of US$1. Whitman will receive stock options and will be eligible for an annual performance bonus worth at least US$2.4 million, HP said in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Whitman, a former CEO of eBay, was named to head HP last week. She has the option to purchase 1.9 million shares in HP.
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”
Sales in the retail, and food and beverage sectors last month continued to rise, increasing 0.7 percent and 13.6 percent respectively from a year earlier, setting record highs for the month of March, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Sales in the wholesale sector also grew last month by 4.6 annually, mainly due to the business opportunities for emerging applications related to artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing technologies, the ministry said in a report. The ministry forecast that retail, and food and beverage sales this month would retain their growth momentum as the former would benefit from Tomb Sweeping Day
Thousands of parents in Singapore are furious after a Cordlife Group Ltd (康盛人生集團), a major operator of cord blood banks in Asia, irreparably damaged their children’s samples through improper handling, with some now pursuing legal action. The ongoing case, one of the worst to hit the largely untested industry, has renewed concerns over companies marketing themselves to anxious parents with mostly unproven assurances. This has implications across the region, given Cordlife’s operations in Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia, the Philippines and India. The parents paid for years to have their infants’ cord blood stored, with the understanding that the stem cells they contained