OIL
Imports reflect pick-up
The nation’s oil imports increased last month as manufacturing rebounded, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. Last month’s shipments rose 12 percent from a year earlier to 27.4 million barrels, while the oil-import bill climbed 3.7 percent to US$2.81 billion, the ministry said in a statement.
ELECTRONICS
Credit Suisse cuts forecasts
Credit Suisse Group AG has cut its earnings estimates for contract notebook computer makers Wistron Corp (緯創), Compal Electronics Inc (仁寶) and Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) because of lukewarm demand as consumers wait for new products from major brands to hit the market. The bank said in a report on Friday that it has lowered its earnings per share estimates for Wistron, Compal and Quanta for this year by 8.5 percent, 8 percent and 1 percent respectively to reflect lower notebook shipments.
FINANCE
US jobs news affects bonds
The nation’s bonds fell, with the five-year yield touching the highest level since July 2011, after a US jobs report spurred speculation the US Federal Reserve will begin cutting stimulus measures. The yield on the 0.875 percent notes due January 2018 rose two basis points, or 0.02 percentage point, to 1.16 percent in Taipei, according to the GRETAI Securities Market. It jumped to 1.21 percent earlier, the highest for a five-year benchmark since July 2011, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
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],”
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
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