JAPAN
Business confidence down
Business confidence has sagged since consumers were hit with higher prices after an April sales tax hike, suffering the first deterioration in six quarters, a Bank of Japan report showed yesterday. The Tankan survey for the quarter from April to last month showed confidence among large manufacturers stood at plus 12, well short of market expectations, after hitting a more than six-year high of plus 17 in the preceding quarter. The Tankan reading for large companies in the non-manufacturing sector tumbled to plus 19 from plus 24 in the March quarter, also the first downturn in six quarters.
SOUTH KOREA
Exports rise 2.5%
Exports rose 2.5 percent last month from a year ago on robust shipments of tech products and steel, official data showed yesterday. Last month’s exports amounted to US$47.8 billion, up 2.5 percent from US$46.7 billion, according to Seoul’s trade ministry. Imports rose 4.5 percent to US$42.5 billion during the same period, leaving a trade surplus of US$5.3 billion.
INDONESIA
Trade surplus recovered
Authorities yesterday said the nation’s trade balance swung back to surplus in May and reported a flurry of other positive data, a boost for the country’s economy after a recent slowdown. The surplus was slightly higher than expected at US$70 million, according to the statistics agency, after a deficit of almost US$2 billion in April as exports were hit by a controversial mineral ore export ban. Inflation slowed further to 6.7 percent year-on-year last month after spiking last year following a rise in fuel prices, the agency said, and a manufacturing activity survey hit a new record high.
AUSTRALIA
Bank holds interest rate
The central bank kept interest rates on hold at a record low 2.5 percent yesterday, as a resilient currency and softening commodity prices hobbled the economy’s shift away from mining. The Reserve Bank left the cash rate unchanged for its 10th straight meeting as it continued to highlight the need for accommodative monetary policy to “provide support to demand and help growth to strengthen over time.”
AUTOMAKERS
Sales rise in Japan
Japan’s automobile sales rose for the first time in three months, adding to evidence the world’s third-largest auto market is withstanding a consumption tax hike in April. Vehicle deliveries last month climbed 0.4 percent to 452,555 units, the Japan Automobile Dealers Association and Japan Mini Vehicle Association said yesterday. The increase compares with a 5.5 percent drop in April and 1.2 percent decline in May. The higher levy on purchases has failed to dent demand for minicars, which have posted sales gains in 12 consecutive months.
TECHNOLOGY
Twitter buys Tap Commerce
Twitter announced on Monday that it has cut a deal to buy mobile ad firm Tap Commerce to bolster money-making tools at the popular one-to-many messaging service. San Francisco-based Twitter did not disclose how much it paid for Tap Commerce, which is located in New York City, but technology news Web site Recode.net reported the deal to be valued at about US$100 million. Tap Commerce specializes in getting people to “re-engage” with applications installed, then ignored, on smartphones or tablet computers.
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
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
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last