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.
BUSINESS UPDATE: The iPhone assembler said operations outlook is expected to show quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year growth for the second quarter Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday reported strong growth in sales last month, potentially raising expectations for iPhone sales while artificial intelligence (AI)-related business booms. The company, which assembles the majority of Apple Inc’s smartphones, reported a 19.03 percent rise in monthly sales to NT$510.9 billion (US$15.78 billion), from NT$429.22 billion in the same period last year. On a monthly basis, sales rose 14.16 percent, it said. The company in a statement said that last month’s revenue was a record-breaking April performance. Hon Hai, known also as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), assembles most iPhones, but the company is diversifying its business to
Apple Inc has been developing a homegrown chip to run artificial intelligence (AI) tools in data centers, although it is unclear if the semiconductor would ever be deployed, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. The effort would build on Apple’s previous efforts to make in-house chips, which run in its iPhones, Macs and other devices, according to the Journal, which cited unidentified people familiar with the matter. The server project is code-named ACDC (Apple Chips in Data Center) within the company, aiming to utilize Apple’s expertise in chip design for the company’s server infrastructure, the newspaper said. While this initiative has been
GlobalWafers Co (環球晶圓), the world’s No. 3 silicon wafer supplier, yesterday said that revenue would rise moderately in the second half of this year, driven primarily by robust demand for advanced wafers used in high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, a key component of artificial intelligence (AI) technology. “The first quarter is the lowest point of this cycle. The second half will be better than the first for the whole semiconductor industry and for GlobalWafers,” chairwoman Doris Hsu (徐秀蘭) said during an online investors’ conference. “HBM would definitely be the key growth driver in the second half,” Hsu said. “That is our big hope
The consumer price index (CPI) last month eased to 1.95 percent, below the central bank’s 2 percent target, as food and entertainment cost increases decelerated, helped by stable egg prices, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday. The slowdown bucked predictions by policymakers and academics that inflationary pressures would build up following double-digit electricity rate hikes on April 1. “The latest CPI data came after the cost of eating out and rent grew moderately amid mixed international raw material prices,” DGBAS official Tsao Chih-hung (曹志弘) told a news conference in Taipei. The central bank in March raised interest rates by