COMMODITIES
Gold hits six-week high
Gold advanced for a fifth day to the highest level in more than six weeks on signs the Federal Reserve may delay an interest rate increase as inflation remains low and the selloff in emerging markets spreads. Gold for immediate delivery climbed as much as 1.4 percent to US$1,168.39 an ounce, the highest level since July 7, before trading at US$1,158.75 by 2:57pm in Singapore, according to Bloomberg generic pricing. The metal has surged 3.9 percent this week and is set for the biggest such gain since January. Fed officials showed concern over low inflation, according to the minutes of last month’s meeting, signaling a possible rate increase in December instead of next month. China’s decision to devalue amid slower growth and prospects for higher US interest rates have spurred selling across emerging markets and commodities.
ECONOMY
Eurozone gains momentum
The eurozone economy picked up momentum this month, with an improvement in Germany lifting a business index to close to its highest level in four years. Markit Economics said yesterday that its composite Purchasing Managers’ Index of manufacturing and services rose to 54.1 from 53.9 last month, close to the four-year high reached in June. That is above the 50 mark that divides expansion from contraction and compares with a median estimate of 53.7 in a Bloomberg survey of economists. The increase was partly led by Germany, the region’s largest economy, where a factory index rose to the highest level in more than a year. That offset “disappointing” numbers in France, where manufacturing shrank for a second month.
STOCK MARKET
Samsung eyes NASDAQ
South Korea’s dominant Samsung conglomerate is to make its first entry into US stock markets next year with the listing of a biotechnology affiliate, a company official said yesterday. The listing of Samsung Bioepis on the NASDAQ Stock Market is aimed at securing funds for investment in the field of biosimilars — a new breed of drugs that mimic the effects of biologic drugs made from living cells. “With an underwriter already designated, preparations are under way for the public stock listing of Bioepis in the first half of next year,” a Samsung official said. Bioepis are to be the first Samsung affiliate to list in the US. Samsung Electronics controls 46 percent of Samsung BioLogics, which in turn holds 90 percent of Bioepis. The Samsung group is already remarkably diverse, with interests ranging from electronics to construction and shipbuilding and sees biotechnology as a revenue growth engine for the future.
ECONOMY
Seoul sees spending slump
South Koreans spent less of their incomes on shopping, leisure and bills last quarter, underscoring the challenge the government faces in boosting domestic demand. Household spending as a percentage of disposable income, excluding items like tax and pensions, fell to 71.6 percent in April-June from 72.3 percent in the first three months of the year, the statistics office said in a statement yesterday. With exports dropping every month this year, South Korea is relying on a revival in consumption to support its economy. The decline in the consumption rate comes after the central bank cut interest rates four times in the past year to a record low of 1.5 percent and the government introduced its largest-ever budget this year.
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],”
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
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