JAPAN
Factory output growing
Factory output increased at a greater-than-expected 0.8 percent month-on-month last month, reversing a drop in the previous month, official data showed yesterday. The reading from the industry ministry was better than the median forecast for an increase of 0.3 percent in a survey of economists carried out by Bloomberg News. In May, industrial production fell 2.1 percent compared with April. A survey of manufacturers’ output projections showed that growth was expected to be 0.5 percent this month and 2.7 percent next month.
BRAZIL
Central bank raises rate
The central bank raised its benchmark interest rate by half a percentage point on Wednesday to 14.25 percent, seeking to fight inflation during a major slump in the local currency. The bank’s monetary policy committee decided in a unanimous vote to raise the rate by 0.5 percentage points, in a widely expected move. The increase was the largest in nine years.
SWEDEN
GDP growth accelerating
Economic growth accelerated last quarter, beating estimates and reducing pressure on the central bank to expand its stimulus program. GDP grew 1 percent from the first quarter, when it expanded 0.4 percent, according to preliminary data released by Statistics Sweden yesterday. That compared with a 0.7 percent estimate in a Bloomberg survey of analysts. Second-quarter GDP rose an annual 3 percent versus the 2.5 percent estimate made by the central bank. The bank has resorted to negative rates and bond purchases to try to stave off the threat of deflation.
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],”