AUSTRALIA
Interest rates held at 2.5%
The nation’s central bank yesterday left interest rates on hold at a historic low of 2.5 percent, in a widely expected move four days ahead of national elections. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) last month cut rates to their lowest level since it was established in 1959, underscoring fears of a slowdown as country’s decade-long mining boom slows down. The RBA, which has cut rates by 25 basis points twice this year — in May and last month — said it would continue to assess the outlook and adjust policy as needed to foster sustainable growth in demand and inflation outcomes consistent with its target.
UNITED KINGDOM
Retail sales growth eases
Growth in British retail sales eased slightly last month after a bumper July, but demand for furniture helped to sustain the momentum, industry data showed yesterday. The British Retail Consortium said the total value of retail sales was 3.6 percent higher last month than a year ago, compared with 3.9 percent annual growth the previous month, which was the best July since 2006. Like-for-like sales, which strip out changes in floor space as retailers open and close outlets, rose 1.8 percent on the year, compared with 2.2 percent in July. The survey suggested Britons are feeling more confident about committing to big purchases, citing rising sales of furniture and flooring.
SPAIN
Unemployment down by 31
The country said yesterday it had eked out a sixth straight month of shrinking jobless queues last month when the number of people registered as unemployed dipped by just 31 people. The total number of registered unemployed — 4.70 million in raw figures — was basically unchanged, according to the Labor Ministry report. However, the decline of 31 people from the previous month was enough for the Spanish government to hail a sixth consecutive month of declines, and the first drop in the month of August since 2000. When the figures were corrected to smooth out seasonal variations, the number of claimants fell by a more substantial 13,700 people to 4.87 million.
SECURITIES
Investors sue Everbright
Everbright Securities Co (光大證券), ordered by China’s securities regulator to pay a record 523 million yuan (US$85 million) for insider trading, was sued by investors in Guangzhou and Shanghai seeking damages for losses. Courts in the two cities have received the claims and have not yet decided whether to accept them, lawyers for the investors, said yesterday. State-controlled Everbright sold exchange-traded funds and index futures on Aug. 16, before telling the market it had made 23.4 billion yuan of erroneous buy orders. The regulator barred the company from most proprietary trading, and banned four of its executives from the market for life.
ENERGY
Gazprom net profits rise
The world’s largest gas company, the state-controlled Russian giant Gazprom, yesterday announced that its net profits rose 5 percent in the first quarter to 380.7 billion rubles (US$11.4 billion). The rise in profits was driven by an increase in net sales of 19 percent, helped largely by an increase of sales of Gazprom’s core gas product by 25 percent over the period, the company said in a statement.
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
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
RECORD-BREAKING: TSMC’s net profit last quarter beat market expectations by expanding 8.9% and it was the best first-quarter profit in the chipmaker’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which counts Nvidia Corp as a key customer, yesterday said that artificial intelligence (AI) server chip revenue is set to more than double this year from last year amid rising demand. The chipmaker expects the growth momentum to continue in the next five years with an annual compound growth rate of 50 percent, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors yesterday. By 2028, AI chips’ contribution to revenue would climb to about 20 percent from a percentage in the low teens, Wei said. “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the
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],”