SOUTH KOREA
Account surplus falls
The nation’s current account surplus fell for the second straight month last month, but exports increased and the central bank yesterday forecast a record surplus by the end of the year. The current account surplus stood at US$6.77 billion last month, the Bank of Korea said, down from US$7.24 billion in June and a record US$8.64 billion in May. Exports rose 3.8 percent on-year to US$48.39 billion and imports gained 3.5 percent to US$42.71 billion last month, resulting in a US$5.68 billion trade surplus. For the first seven months of the year, the current-account surplus totalled US$36.55 billion and the central bank said it expected a total surplus this year of US$53 billion, exceeding last year’s record of US$43.14 billion.
AUTOMAKERS
Toyota seeks to expand
Toyota said on Wednesday that it plans a new push to boost its market share in Latin America, saying it underperforms in Brazil and Mexico, the region’s largest economies. Mark Hogan, former president of Magna International and former General Motors executive, who became the first American to serve on Toyota’s board of directors on June 1, told reporters that Toyota needs to expand its footprint in the two countries. He said the company in addition needs more capacity in Mexico, where its market share is also about 5 percent.
BRAZIL
Interest rate raised
The Central Bank on Wednesday raised its key interest rate by half a percentage point to nine percent in a bid to curb surging inflation, it said. The bank’s monetary policy committee said the move “will help set inflation on the decline and ensure that trend continues into next year.” It was the fourth consecutive increase this year as the real has depreciated against the dollar in a volatile market roiled by expectations of tighter US monetary policy. Last month, 12-month inflation reached 6.27 percent, below but very close to the upper limit of the government target of 6.5 percent.
RETAIL
Carrefour posts large profit
French big box store Carrefour posted a significant profit in the first half of the year, hailing it as a sign that its turnaround plan is beginning to bear fruit. Europe’s largest retailer by sales said yesterday that its net income rose to 902 million euros (US$1.2 billion). However, much of that boost — about 380 million euros — was from operations the company is discontinuing, raising questions about whether the company can stay profitable. Still, the results were an improvement on last year, when Carrefour reported a loss of 31 million euros in the first half. The company said that excluding asset sales and other elements not counted in this year’s reporting, its net profit last year would have been 3 million euros.
GAMING
Wii U system price to be cut
Nintendo Co announced on Wednesday that it is cutting the price of its Wii U video-game system as it braces for the fall release of competing consoles from Sony and Microsoft. Nintendo will reduce the price of the Wii U deluxe set from US$349.99 to US$299.99, effective on Sept. 20. The company will also release a Wii U bundle featuring The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD, a remake of the 2003 game, that will also be available from Sept. 20 for US$299.99.
China has claimed a breakthrough in developing homegrown chipmaking equipment, an important step in overcoming US sanctions designed to thwart Beijing’s semiconductor goals. State-linked organizations are advised to use a new laser-based immersion lithography machine with a resolution of 65 nanometers or better, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said in an announcement this month. Although the note does not specify the supplier, the spec marks a significant step up from the previous most advanced indigenous equipment — developed by Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment Group Co (SMEE, 上海微電子) — which stood at about 90 nanometers. MIIT’s claimed advances last
ISSUES: Gogoro has been struggling with ballooning losses and was recently embroiled in alleged subsidy fraud, using Chinese-made components instead of locally made parts Gogoro Inc (睿能創意), the nation’s biggest electric scooter maker, yesterday said that its chairman and CEO Horace Luke (陸學森) has resigned amid chronic losses and probes into the company’s alleged involvement in subsidy fraud. The board of directors nominated Reuntex Group (潤泰集團) general counsel Tamon Tseng (曾夢達) as the company’s new chairman, Gogoro said in a statement. Ruentex is Gogoro’s biggest stakeholder. Gogoro Taiwan general manager Henry Chiang (姜家煒) is to serve as acting CEO during the interim period, the statement said. Luke’s departure came as a bombshell yesterday. As a company founder, he has played a key role in pushing for the
EUROPE ON HOLD: Among a flurry of announcements, Intel said it would postpone new factories in Germany and Poland, but remains committed to its US expansion Intel Corp chief executive officer Pat Gelsinger has landed Amazon.com Inc’s Amazon Web Services (AWS) as a customer for the company’s manufacturing business, potentially bringing work to new plants under construction in the US and boosting his efforts to turn around the embattled chipmaker. Intel and AWS are to coinvest in a custom semiconductor for artificial intelligence computing — what is known as a fabric chip — in a “multiyear, multibillion-dollar framework,” Intel said in a statement on Monday. The work would rely on Intel’s 18A process, an advanced chipmaking technology. Intel shares rose more than 8 percent in late trading after the
GLOBAL ECONOMY: Policymakers have a choice of a small 25 basis-point cut or a bold cut of 50 basis points, which would help the labor market, but might reignite inflation The US Federal Reserve is gearing up to announce its first interest rate cut in more than four years on Wednesday, with policymakers expected to debate how big a move to make less than two months before the US presidential election. Senior officials at the US central bank including Fed Chairman Jerome Powell have in recent weeks indicated that a rate cut is coming this month, as inflation eases toward the bank’s long-term target of two percent, and the labor market continues to cool. The Fed, which has a dual mandate from the US Congress to act independently to ensure