UNITED STATES
Consumer spending flat
Consumer spending barely rose and inflation was tame in July, offering a cautionary note on the economy as the Federal Reserve weighs cutting back its massive bond-buying program. Spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of the nation’s economic activity, could struggle to regain momentum as other data on Friday showed consumer sentiment fell this month. The reports added to a number of signs that have suggested a loss of steam in the economy early in the third quarter. The Department of Commerce said consumer spending ticked up 0.1 percent, restrained by weak outlays on utilities and automobiles. Adjusted for inflation, spending was flat.
GREECE
Union calls for strike
The nation’s main public sector trade union, Adedy, launched a call on Friday for a two-day strike this month in protest against job lay-offs included in an economic overhaul demanded by the country’s creditors. Adedy, in a statement, criticized the government’s “submission” to proposals from the EU and IMF that would “destroy the public sector and the welfare state.” The strike action was called for Sept. 18 and Sept. 19. Greece has agreed to put 12,500 civil servants on a redeployment scheme by the end of this month, as part of a general restructuring of its public sector, in return for the next installment of its EU-IMF rescue loans. Workers have to accept new posts or spend eight months on reduced salaries as alternative posts are found, with the risk of losing their jobs altogether. The government redeployed 4,000 civil servants at the end of July, mostly teaching staff.
FINANCE
GE to spin off lending
General Electric Co (GE) plans to spin off the US consumer lending business of its finance arm with an initial public offering (IPO) of stock that could come early next year, according to the Wall Street Journal. The newspaper also said on Friday that the Fairfield, Connecticut, conglomerate is considering smaller spinoffs or asset sales, but it has started preliminary work on the IPO. The paper cited unnamed sources familiar with the matter. The consumer finance business provides store credit cards to about 55 million people for retailers like Wal-Mart Stores Inc. It accounts for US$50 billion of GE Capital’s US$274 billion in outstanding loans, according to the report.
FRANCE
Reforms bore fruit: Hollande
President Francois Hollande indicated he was more optimistic over the nation’s economic outlook next year, though he stopped short of committing his government to a new target. Hollande told the daily Le Monde that a series of reforms conducted since he took office 15 months ago were producing positive effects on the economy and would keep building momentum. The government’s growth forecast for next year is currently 1.2 percent, but Les Echos newspaper has reported that it has been working with an unpublished estimate about 0.8 percent as it drafts its budget for next year. Hollande is fighting to kickstart growth through tax credits for companies while battling to bring down record joblessness, but his efforts are being complicated by EU-imposed belt-tightening aimed at shrinking the public deficit.
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],”
TRANSFORMATION: Taiwan is now home to the largest Google hardware research and development center outside of the US, thanks to the nation’s economic policies President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday attended an event marking the opening of Google’s second hardware research and development (R&D) office in Taiwan, which was held at New Taipei City’s Banciao District (板橋). This signals Taiwan’s transformation into the world’s largest Google hardware research and development center outside of the US, validating the nation’s economic policy in the past eight years, she said. The “five plus two” innovative industries policy, “six core strategic industries” initiative and infrastructure projects have grown the national industry and established resilient supply chains that withstood the COVID-19 pandemic, Tsai said. Taiwan has improved investment conditions of the domestic economy
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