JAPAN
Policy rate left unchanged
The Bank of Japan yesterday said its board voted unanimously to keep its key rate unchanged between zero and 0.1 percent, as it continued with earlier measures to help safeguard the country’s fragile recovery. The bank maintained its ¥50 trillion (US$650 billion) scheme to buy securities and boost liquidity to help shore up confidence amid worries over the strong yen and the health of the global economy. It also extended by six months a ¥1 trillion loan program for financial institutions in areas affected by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami to the end of April next year, in a bid to support rebuilding efforts. However, the bank warned the pace of overseas growth “is expected to slow for the time being” and the consequences of sovereign debt problems in Europe and economic weakness in the US “continue to warrant attention.”
COMMODITIES
Gold closes back up
Gold closed above US$1,650, easing concerns among traders that a major sell-off was underway. Gold for December delivery rose US$11.60 on Thursday, or about 1 percent, to US$1,653.20 an ounce. December silver gained US$1.635, or 5.45 percent, to close at US$32.005. Many traders buy and sell gold based on market momentum. A sell-off last week pushed gold below US$1,600 for the first time since July. Gold is down about 13 percent from its high of US$1,891.90 in late August. Some investors see a brighter future in gold, thanks to big stimulus measures from European central banks that promise to keep interest rates low. “That kind of changed the thinking for people who previously sold gold, who were thinking there might be a bigger sell-off than there was,” said George Gero, senior vice president at RBC Wealth Management in New York.
ENERGY
Greece eyes solar project
Greek Minister of Environment, Energy and Climate Change George Papaconstantinou said he expects an agreement by the end of the year that will advance a 20 billion euro (US$27 billion) solar power project, part of an initiative to boost the economy. Papaconstantinou said he plans to sign a pact with EU officials and renewable energy companies that will help deliver Project Helios, named after the Greek god of the sun, which envisions luring foreign investors to install as many as 10 gigawatts of solar panels in Greece. “I have spoken with three German ministers now on the project as well as with the EU and I’m optimistic we can get a framework agreement by the end of the year,” Papaconstantinou said. German Federal Minister of Economics and Technology Philipp Roesler was due to sign accords yesterday outlining German-Greek cooperation on cutting bureaucracy, backing renewable energy and aiding tourism.
TRADE
Aeronautics aids France
France yesterday reported a sharply reduced official trade deficit of 4.97 billion euros for August, down from 6.36 billion in July due to a jump in aeronautical exports. “The execution of major aeronautical and airspace contracts caused a sharp increase in export of transportation equipment in August,” the French customs service said in a statement. Exports of other industrial products was also strong, as were import of industrial supplies, it added. The monthly reduction in the trade deficit was entirely due to the transport sector, it said. The 12-month deficit came in at 66.8 billion euros, considerably higher than the 51.5 billion euro deficit recorded last year.
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
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
RECORD-BREAKING: TSMC’s net profit last quarter beat market expectations by expanding 8.9% and it was the best first-quarter profit in the chipmaker’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which counts Nvidia Corp as a key customer, yesterday said that artificial intelligence (AI) server chip revenue is set to more than double this year from last year amid rising demand. The chipmaker expects the growth momentum to continue in the next five years with an annual compound growth rate of 50 percent, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors yesterday. By 2028, AI chips’ contribution to revenue would climb to about 20 percent from a percentage in the low teens, Wei said. “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the
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],”