INDIA
Economic expansion slows
The economy expanded by a much slower-than-expected 5.3 percent in the January-to-March quarter, official data showed yesterday, adding further pressure on the embattled government. For the full fiscal year to March, the economy expanded 6.5 percent — lower than the government’s estimate of 6.9 percent and far below the 8.4 percent of the previous year. The final quarter saw a contraction in the key manufacturing sector, where output shrank 0.3 percent, while farm, construction and mining production grew only modestly.
JAPAN
Factory output raises concern
The country yesterday posted anaemic factory output growth of 0.2 percent in April, slower than expected and raising concerns about a recovery for the world’s third-largest economy. The Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry put a positive gloss on its latest figures, saying output “continues to show an upward movement.” The ministry also pointed to a manufacturers’ survey yesterday showing that, while factory managers expected a 3.2 percent month-on-month dip in output this month, it would be followed by a 2.4 percent rise in production next month.
CHINA
Regulators approve iPad 3
Regulators have approved Apple’s iPad 3, possibly moving the company closer to launching the latest version of its tablet in the fast-growing Chinese market. The Chinese government’s telecommunications equipment certification agency identified the product as A1430 in an announcement dated on Monday. That is the model number of the third-generation version of the iPad sold in the US.
TECHNOLOGY
HP promotes Bill Veghte
Hewlett-Packard Co has promoted Bill Veghte to chief operating officer, the latest expansion of his responsibilities since the slumping technology company hired Meg Whitman as its CEO eight months ago. The appointment announced on Wednesday makes it clear that Whitman intends to lean heavily on Veghte as she tries to boost HP’s earnings and sagging stock price. Management missteps have hobbled the Silicon Valley pioneer as its rivals raced ahead with more innovative products and services.
AUTOMAKERS
Japan’s production jumps
Japan’s auto sector yesterday reported huge increases in production last month from a year earlier, reflecting a steep recovery after last year’s quake-tsunami disaster crippled output and demand. Production of cars, trucks and buses reached 799,474 vehicles, up 173.8 percent from April last year and the seventh consecutive monthly increase, according to the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association. Meanwhile, domestic vehicle sales climbed 93.7 percent to 359,631 vehicles, while exports surged 219.2 percent to 402,389 vehicles.
AVIATION
Kingfisher posts loss
India’s Kingfisher Airlines posted its worst-ever quarterly loss yesterday, as huge cuts in the number of flights compounded the woes of a cash-strapped carrier facing high fuel prices and intense competition for low fares. Kingfisher, which was India’s No. 2 airline until a year ago, is now the smallest carrier in India by market share. The airline lost 11.5 billion rupees (US$204.2 million) in the quarter to end-March, compared with a loss of 3.6 billion rupees a year earlier.
ISSUES: Gogoro has been struggling with ballooning losses and was recently embroiled in alleged subsidy fraud, using Chinese-made components instead of locally made parts Gogoro Inc (睿能創意), the nation’s biggest electric scooter maker, yesterday said that its chairman and CEO Horace Luke (陸學森) has resigned amid chronic losses and probes into the company’s alleged involvement in subsidy fraud. The board of directors nominated Reuntex Group (潤泰集團) general counsel Tamon Tseng (曾夢達) as the company’s new chairman, Gogoro said in a statement. Ruentex is Gogoro’s biggest stakeholder. Gogoro Taiwan general manager Henry Chiang (姜家煒) is to serve as acting CEO during the interim period, the statement said. Luke’s departure came as a bombshell yesterday. As a company founder, he has played a key role in pushing for the
China has claimed a breakthrough in developing homegrown chipmaking equipment, an important step in overcoming US sanctions designed to thwart Beijing’s semiconductor goals. State-linked organizations are advised to use a new laser-based immersion lithography machine with a resolution of 65 nanometers or better, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said in an announcement this month. Although the note does not specify the supplier, the spec marks a significant step up from the previous most advanced indigenous equipment — developed by Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment Group Co (SMEE, 上海微電子) — which stood at about 90 nanometers. MIIT’s claimed advances last
CROSS-STRAIT TENSIONS: The US company could switch orders from TSMC to alternative suppliers, but that would lower chip quality, CEO Jensen Huang said Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳), whose products have become the hottest commodity in the technology world, on Wednesday said that the scramble for a limited amount of supply has frustrated some customers and raised tensions. “The demand on it is so great, and everyone wants to be first and everyone wants to be most,” he told the audience at a Goldman Sachs Group Inc technology conference in San Francisco. “We probably have more emotional customers today. Deservedly so. It’s tense. We’re trying to do the best we can.” Huang’s company is experiencing strong demand for its latest generation of chips, called
GLOBAL ECONOMY: Policymakers have a choice of a small 25 basis-point cut or a bold cut of 50 basis points, which would help the labor market, but might reignite inflation The US Federal Reserve is gearing up to announce its first interest rate cut in more than four years on Wednesday, with policymakers expected to debate how big a move to make less than two months before the US presidential election. Senior officials at the US central bank including Fed Chairman Jerome Powell have in recent weeks indicated that a rate cut is coming this month, as inflation eases toward the bank’s long-term target of two percent, and the labor market continues to cool. The Fed, which has a dual mandate from the US Congress to act independently to ensure