UNITED KINGDOM
S&P warns of rating risk
Standard & Poor’s rating agency says the country’s cherished “AAA” long-term credit rating will stay for now — but warned there was still a chance of a downgrade if the economy weakens. The move comes after fellow ratings agency Moody’s downgraded its “AAA” credit rating for the country one notch to “AA1” in February. S&P said on Friday it would leave the rating on a negative outlook because the agency views a one-in-three chance that it could cut ratings over the next two years if the country’s economy weakens beyond current expectations.
SPAIN
Social housing plan unveiled
The government said on Friday that it would invest 2.4 billion euros (US$3.12 billion) over the next three years to help the poor gain access to rental housing and renovate buildings to boost the stricken construction sector. Spain, the fourth-biggest eurozone economy, fell into crisis after a real-estate bubble burst in 2008, and since then, officials have carried out 252,826 expulsion orders, 61 percent of all issued so far.
PORTUGAL
Pay cuts ruled unlawful
The Constitutional Court has ruled that some of the unpopular pay cuts in this year’s state budget are unlawful, denying the government about 1.4 billion euros of predicted revenue. Among the reasons for the decision were that the measures neglected guarantees of equality. Private sector workers are not subject to the measures. The court’s decision on Friday delivers a setback to the austerity strategy agreed between the government and foreign creditors who lent Portugal 78 billion euros in a bailout two years ago.
MOROCCO
Public investment on hold
The government announced that it will suspend 15 billion dirhams (US$1.75 billion) of public investment to help balance an overstretched budget during the country’s current economic crisis. The country’s economy grew only 2.4 percent last year due to a poor harvest and the effect of Europe’s economic crisis on the country’s two key trading partners, Spain and France. This year’s growth is forecast to be 4.3 percent.
AUTOMAKERS
Toyota settles with US county
Toyota has agreed to a US$16 million deal with a southern Californian county over charges the Japanese auto giant hid safety issues linked to unintended acceleration of cars, officials said on Friday. Toyota issued recalls in 2009 and 2010 affecting nearly 6 million vehicles in the US due to the risk caused by floor mats and “sticky” gas pedal issues. More than 200 US federal and about 100 state cases were filed.
INTERNET
Chernin bids for Hulu
Former News Corp chief operating officer Peter Chernin offered at least US$500 million for Hulu, the online TV service he helped found, two anonymous sources said. Chernin submitted the bid for Hulu last week, the sources said. The price does not include Hulu’s US$330 million in debt and would increase with additional content rights and longer contract terms, they said. Hulu’s controlling owners, News Corp and Walt Disney Co, are weighing whether to sell Hulu or buy each other out.
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
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
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
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