ECONOMY
Lagarde urges growth policy
IMF managing director Christine Lagarde yesterday urged Asian nations to employ growth-friendly monetary and fiscal policies to counter challenges posed by a fragile international economy. The multilateral lender earlier this week warned of a further downgrade to the international growth outlook on increasing risks of economic derailment. “What should be Asia’s response? It is safe to say that structural reforms are key — to boost competitiveness, growth and jobs,” Lagarde told a conference jointly hosted by the IMF in New Delhi. She said Beijing should improve credit allocation to rebalance the economy away from debt-fueled investment.
FINLAND
Fitch cuts credit grade
Finland had its credit grade cut to “AA+” by Fitch Ratings, which cited a limited potential for a pickup in economic growth. “Economic performance remains weak,” Fitch said in a statement on Friday, announcing the reduction to the second-highest credit grade. Finland had a “AAA” rating from Fitch since 1998. The company changed its outlook to negative in March last year, five months after Standard & Poor’s lowered the nation to “AA+”. Finland’s economy grew at a 0.4 percent clip last year after three years of recession. The growth rate was the weakest in the EU after Greece, according to Fitch.
CANADA
Unemployment rises to 7.3%
The Canadian economy lost 2,300 jobs last month, with fresh losses in the oil-producing provinces raising unemployment to 7.3 percent, the highest level seen in three years, official data showed on Friday. The results fell short of analysts’ expectations of 10,000 new jobs and unemployment holding steady at 7.2 percent. Although there was a slight increase in the number of people working, full-time employment dropped (51,800 less full-time jobs) and was only partially compensated by an increase in part-time jobs (49,500 extra part-time jobs), Statistics Canada said.
UNITED STATES
Import price fall slowing
US import prices fell last month for an eighth straight month, weighed down by declining costs for petroleum and a range of other goods, but the pace of decline is slowing as the US dollar’s rally fades and oil prices stabilize. The US Department of Labor on Friday said import prices slipped 0.3 percent last month after a revised 1.0 percent decrease in January. Import prices were down 6.1 percent in the 12 months through last month. The report also showed export prices fell 0.4 percent last month after sliding 0.8 percent in January.
MINING
Barrick fined over toxic spill
An Argentine judge has ruled nine Barrick Gold executives must face trial over a cyanide spill six months ago, as officials fined the company more than US$9 million. Canadian miner Barrick has acknowledged spilling 1 million liters of cyanide into a river around the Veladero mine in San Juan Province, Argentina, but blamed a faulty pipe valve and said that local water remained safe to drink. The leak was identified in September last year at the gold and silver mine located 4,000m above seal level in the Andes. The nine co-accused are on bail of 100,000 Argentine pesos (US$5,648).
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last