ECONOMY
Seoul sets surplus record
South Korea’s current account surplus rose to a monthly record last month as slumping oil prices slashed the value of imports, South Korean data showed yesterday. The preliminary figure of US$11.4 billion shattered the previous monthly record of US$11.1 billion set in October last year, according to data from the Bank of Korea. The current account — the broadest measure of foreign trade in goods and services — has been in the black for two years and nine months. The nation has racked up a current account surplus of US$81.9 billion this year and is on course to meet or exceed the central bank’s target surplus of US$84 billion for this year — an annual record.
ECONOMY
Brazil to miss fiscal target
After enduring a fourth year of low growth, Brazil will miss its fiscal target for this year by a wide margin, its central bank said on Monday. Last month, the world’s No. 7 economy’s public sector primary fiscal balance — a deficit of 8.1 billion reais (US$3.1 billion) — was worse than forecast and the worst November on record. The nation’s accumulated January-to-November deficit hit 19.642 billion reais, with growth forecast barely to creep above zero this year. Incoming Brazilian Minister of Finance Joaquim Levy on Monday said that the government had targeted a primary fiscal surplus for the year of 0.2 percent of GDP — about 10 billion reais.
ECONOMY
Argentine growth declines
Argentina’s economy contracted 0.8 percent late this year, amid weaker industrial output and weaker exports, authorities said on Monday. The negative growth in the last four months of the year continued a downward trend after a 0.8 percent rise in the first four months, followed by stagnation in the second four, Argentina’s Statistics and Census Office said. The IMF said earlier this month that the nation, censured for failing to meet IMF statistical quality standards, was making progress in improving its data, but more was needed.
TRADE
Beijing to speed Gulf talks
China’s government will speed up free-trade talks with six nations on the Arabian Peninsula and begin trade negotiations with Israel next year, Chinese media outlets said yesterday, as Beijing accelerates efforts to sign such agreements. Beijing and members of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — started free-trade talks in 2004, and a deal is expected to help China cut costs on energy imports from the region, the China Daily newspaper said. China inked major free-trade agreements with Australia and South Korea this year.
MERGERS
Alliance Boots bid backed
Shareholders in US pharmacy chain Walgreens Co on Monday approved a US$16 billion takeover of European rival Alliance Boots GmbH that creates a global leader in the pharmacy business. Walgreens said that 97 percent of its shareholders approved its acquisition of the remaining 55 percent of Alliance Boots that it does not currently own. Walgreens has more than 8,200 US stores. The combined company is to have more than 11,000 stores in 10 nations. The wholesale operations will have a presence in about 20 countries.
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
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
CROSS-STRAIT TENSIONS: The US company could switch orders from TSMC to alternative suppliers, but that would lower chip quality, CEO Jensen Huang said Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳), whose products have become the hottest commodity in the technology world, on Wednesday said that the scramble for a limited amount of supply has frustrated some customers and raised tensions. “The demand on it is so great, and everyone wants to be first and everyone wants to be most,” he told the audience at a Goldman Sachs Group Inc technology conference in San Francisco. “We probably have more emotional customers today. Deservedly so. It’s tense. We’re trying to do the best we can.” Huang’s company is experiencing strong demand for its latest generation of chips, called
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