GERMANY
Union demands pay hike
The nation’s largest industrial union is calling for a 5.5 percent pay increase next year for about 3.7 million workers in Europe’s biggest economy. The IG Metall union’s leadership made the recommendation on Tuesday ahead of negotiations in January. The figure is well above Germany’s 0.8 percent annual inflation, but union chairman Detlef Wetzel cited high corporate earnings and forecasts of growth. “It is also urgently needed to strengthen domestic demand,” Wetzel added.
MACROECONOMICS
S Korea jobless rate flat
South Korea’s unemployment rate remained unchanged last month, but the number of young people out of work eased slightly, government data showed yesterday. The seasonally adjusted jobless rate stood at 3.5 percent for the second straight month, Statistics Korea said. Unemployment among those aged 15 to 29 stood at 8 percent, down 0.5 percentage points from a month earlier.
MACROECONOMICS
Madagascar recovering
Madagascar’s economy is showing signs of recovery, although spending in key sectors like health and education remain under pressure, an IMF official said on Tuesday. “There are early signs of an economic recovery, with growth at 3 percent and inflation at under 7 percent in 2014,” IMF head of mission George Tsibouris said after concluding his visit. The IMF said the country’s current account deficit was projected to narrow to about 2 percent of GDP this year, from 5.5 percent.
TECHNOLOGY
Xiaomi to buy into Youku
Chinese video streaming firm Youku Tudou Inc (優酷土豆) yesterday said that Xiaomi Technology Co Ltd (小米) would acquire a stake in the online video host. Youku Tudou did not specify how large the smartphone maker’s stake would be or how much would be invested. It said the transaction would take place on the open market. Youku Tudou and Xiaomi will also jointly invest in the production and distribution of online video content and films, while Xiaomi will license Youku Tudou’s video content, Youku Tudou said in a statement.
AUTOMAKERS
GM to lay off 500 in US
General Motors Co (GM), under investigation because of defective ignition switches linked to at least 32 deaths, is to cut more than 500 jobs at two plants in Michigan. Approximately 160 employees will be laid off next year at a factory in Orion to “better align with market demand,” the company said in an e-mail, and a plant in Lansing will eliminate 350 of its 1,500 positions for the same reason.
ENERGY
Petrobas in kickback probe
Petrobras may have overpaid as much as US$1.2 billion in transactions being investigated for potential kickbacks, Brazil’s national accounting office said on Tuesday. The alleged graft issue at the state oil giant and elsewhere was used against Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff in her re-election campaign, but did not stop her from winning. Voters did not blame Rousseff — who was on Petrobras’ board at the time — in two rounds of voting in which she prevailed last month. The Pasadena refinery case alone cost Petrobras US$317 million, accounting office head Augusto Nardes said.
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