CREDIT
Fitch cuts Argentina’s rating
Bond rater Fitch chopped Argentina’s rating on Tuesday by five notches to “CC,” deep in junk territory, saying it expects Buenos Aires to default after a US court ordered it to repay old debt. The downgrade “reflects Fitch’s view that a default by Argentina is probable,” the agency said. Fitch said the downgrade reflects the “sustained deterioration” of Argentina’s finances. “The uncertainty related to the impact of the US court ruling is likely to further damage confidence and intensify political and social tensions in the country and undermine growth prospects,” it said.
SOUTH KOREA
Current account dips
The nation’s current account surplus narrowed slightly last month following a surge the previous month, as import growth outpaced exports, the Bank of Korea said yesterday. The surplus, the broadest measure of trade with the rest of the world, totaled US$5.82 billion last month, down from a revised US$5.91 billion in September. The current account has now been in the black for nine consecutive months, having last posted a deficit in January. For the first 10 months of the year, the surplus stood at US$34.1 billion, surpassing the central bank’s full-year forecast of US$34 billion.
UNITED STATES
Consumer confidence rises
US consumer confidence rose this month to its highest level since February 2008, the Conference Board said on Tuesday, as expectations of the future brightened despite the looming fiscal cliff. The monthly survey saw the consumer confidence index rise to 73.7, up from 73.1 last month, with those surveyed more optimistic about the short-term outlook. However, consumers showed only a little improvement in their view of the lackluster jobs market, and income expectations slipped. The survey came after the Nov. 6 presidential election and at the beginning of the holiday shopping season, which saw consumers open up their wallets in stores and online at a better-than-expected pace.
ENERGY
UK bank provides funding
British government-backed Green Investment Bank, designed to spur private funding for low-carbon energy initiatives, has provided £13 million (US$21 million) finance for two projects. The bank, headquartered in Edinburgh, Scotland, and capitalized with £3 billion of government money, received state aid approval from the European Commission last month. One of two projects that received funding yesterday was a group of six plants that will generate energy from waste in northeast England. They receiving £8 million. The other project, earmarked for a £5 million investment, will retrofit the British facilities of Irish construction company Kingspan with material to make them more energy efficient.
ENTERTAINMENT
Chinese studios eye IPOs
Two big Chinese state-owned film studios are planning to sell shares on the Shanghai stock exchange in a sign of Beijing’s desire to build a film industry that can compete with Hollywood. China Film Co (中國電影公司) and Shanghai Film Group Co (上海電影集團) are on a list of companies preparing to go public in Shanghai. The list was posted this week on the Web site of the country’s securities regulator. No details were provided on how much money they plan to raise or timetables for their initial public offerings (IPOs).
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
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
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last