Asian currencies rose for a second week on speculation leaders of the G20 nations would announce measures to combat a global economic slump when they meet tomorrow and on Tuesday for talks in Mexico.
The Bloomberg-JPMorgan Asia Dollar Index climbed 0.3 percent after Bank of England Governor Mervyn King said on Thursday that the case for more stimulus in the UK “is growing” as Europe’s debt crisis worsens. US data showed consumer prices dropped last month by the most in three years, giving the US Federal Reserve room for more monetary stimulus before a policy meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Philippine peso led gains as the government sought improved credit ratings and exports rose more than economists forecast.
“Global policymakers are more proactive and the market is hoping for some kind of bazooka from the Federal Reserve or the G20 summit next week,” said Roy Teo, a currency strategist in Singapore at ABN Amro Private Bank. “That could stimulate economic confidence and activities.”
The peso strengthened 2.4 percent this week to 42.255 per US dollar in Manila, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The New Taiwan dollar edged up 0.2 percent to NT$29.931, South Korea’s won climbed 0.8 percent to 1,165.75, Thailand’s baht rose 0.7 percent to 31.47 and Malaysia’s ringgit advanced 0.7 percent to 3.1630.
The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index of stocks rose 2.4 percent this week, the most since January. The Asia Dollar Index, which tracks the region’s 10 most-used currencies excluding the yen, has rebounded 0.8 percent from 113.68 on June 1, the lowest level since September 2010.
The yuan appreciated 0.08 percent from a week ago to 6.3651 per US dollar. India’s rupee fell 0.1 percent to 55.4975, while Indonesia’s rupiah gained 0.9 percent to 9,385. Vietnam’s dong advanced 0.2 percent to 20,958.
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