ECONOMY
Brazil inflation hits 6.41%
Inflation in Brazil hit 6.41 percent last year, marginally below a government ceiling of 6.5 percent, but still the highest annual figure since 2011, the National Statistical Institute (IBGE) said on Friday. Prices rose last month by 0.78 percent, above November’s 0.51 percent, but below the 0.92 percent rise in December 2013, IBGE said. The official annual target is 4.5 percent, but the central target has been missed several times in recent years. The 2013 annual figure was 5.91 percent.
CENTRAL BANKS
US Fed reports record profit
The US Federal Reserve on Friday said it had paid a record US$98.7 billion in profit to the US Treasury last year, most of it earned from its stimulus for the US economy. Under Fed policy, its 12 regional banks must pay to the federal government what is left of earnings after certain items, such as operating expenses and dividend payments, are deducted. Last year’s payment widely eclipsed the central bank’s previous record of US$88.4 billion in 2012.
CENTRAL BANKS
SNB expects record profit
The Swiss National Bank (SNB) on Friday said it expected a record profit of 38 billion Swiss francs (US$37.5 billion) last year on the back of gains from its foreign currency holding. The bank said it would make a profit of SF34 billion from its foreign currency holdings and SF4 billion from its gold holdings, according to provisional estimates. Earlier this week, data from the bank showed the total value of its foreign currency reserves had swelled to a record SF495.1 billion by the end of last month.
AVIATION
Aer Lingus rejects IAG bid
International Airlines Group (IAG), the parent company of British Airways and Iberia, said on Friday it had made a fresh attempt to bid for Irish carrier Aer Lingus, which was rejected. It said it submitted a second takeover approach last month, offering 2.40 euros per share, up from 2.30 euros which it offered earlier in the month. IAG, which was formed in 2011, has made several acquisitions since, including Spanish low-cost airline Vueling and Britain’s BMI.
AUTOMAKERS
China new car sales slow
Passenger-vehicle sales rose at a slower pace in China last year as economic growth moderated and more cities imposed purchase restrictions in the world’s largest auto market. Retail deliveries climbed 10 percent to 18.9 million vehicles last year, slowing from the 17 percent gain in 2013, the China Passenger Car Association said on Friday on its Web site. Minivans and SUVs remained the fastest-growing segments, while sedan sales growth fell to 5 percent from 13 percent.
AUTOMAKERS
Nissan, NASA ink R&D deal
Japanese automaker Nissan Motor Co and NASA’s Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, California, on Thursday announced a five-year research and development partnership for autonomous vehicle systems so they can eventually be applied to commercially sold cars. Automakers besides Nissan are working on the technology, including Toyota Motor Corp, General Motors Co and Ford Motor Co.
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],”
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
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