SPAIN
Economy continues to grow
The economy grew by 0.9 percent in the first quarter compared with the previous three-month period, its strongest rate since before the economic crisis began in 2007, the National Statistics Institute said. It was the nation’s seventh consecutive quarterly growth figure. The government predicts the economy would expand 2.9 percent this year.
BRAZIL
Central bank raises rate
The central bank on Wednesday raised its key interest rate to 13.25 percent, as Latin America’s largest economy fights to keep a lid on inflation despite a slowing economy. The increase, the fifth consecutive one, was largely anticipated by analysts polled by the central bank. The hike puts rates at their highest level since January 2009.
VENEZUELA
Foreign reserves drop
The government on Wednesday said the nation’s foreign exchange reserves have fallen 14 percent since the beginning of the year to US$18.99 billion, their lowest level in almost 12 years. Ratings agencies have warned that the oil giant, which has been hit hard by falling crude prices, risks defaulting on US$10 billion in debt payments due this year.
SWITZERLAND
Central bank reports loss
The Swiss National Bank said it took a first-quarter loss of 30 billion Swiss francs (US$32 billion) as the rapid appreciation of the local currency led to high foreign exchange losses. The central bank yesterday said that its loss on foreign currency positions alone came in at SF29.3 billion in the quarter ending on March 31, while its gold reserves dropped SF1 billion.
SOUTH KOREA
March output slips
The industrial output slipped 0.4 percent in March from a month earlier, due to a dip in the production of electronic parts and metal products, government data showed yesterday. Statistics Korea said the March output appeared relatively weak due to a strong showing in February when it grew 2.6 percent month-on-month, mainly due to Lunar New Year demand.
GREECE
Nation’s debt downgraded
Moody’s on Wednesday downgraded the nation’s debt further into junk territory, citing “high uncertainty” that Athens can reach a new agreement with creditors in time to make upcoming debt payments. Moody’s cut the rating one notch to “Caa2,” just two steps above the level signaling that a default is imminent, and left Greece on “negative outlook” for another possible downgrade.
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],”