UNITED STATES
Expanding economy reported
The US Federal Reserve on Wednesday said that the economy kept expanding in late February and last month, despite weakness in the energy sector and a slowdown in exports of some factory and farm products because of global weakness and the strong US dollar. The Fed’s latest survey of business conditions in its 12 districts found that consumer spending was rising modestly and wages were increasing in all districts except Atlanta. The survey, known as the Beige Book, is to be considered at the Fed’s next meeting on April 26 and 27.
EUROZONE
Industrial output falls
Official figures show that industrial output across the 19-country eurozone fell by a monthly 0.8 percent in February, but the sector remains on course to boost quarterly growth across the region. The decline reported by Eurostat was in line with expectations and was largely due to a sharp decline in production of non-durable consumer goods and energy. All four of the eurozone’s top economies — Germany, France, Italy and Spain — recorded monthly output falls.
CONSUMER GOODS
Unilever reports Q1 sales
Unilever PLC reported first-quarter sales growth in line with estimates as gains in its laundry detergent and personal-care units offset falling prices in Europe. Underlying sales increased 4.7 percent, London and Rotterdam-based Unilever said yesteday, compared with the 4.6 percent median estimate of 20 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Growth slowed from 4.9 percent in the fourth quarter, when the maker of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream said that this year would be a tougher year. The company said that consumer demand remained “fragile” and volume growth slowed in the quarter.
LUXURY GOODS
Burberry issues profits tip
Luxury fashion group Burberry PLC yesterday said that annual profits would be at the bottom end of expectations due to a “challenging demand environment.” The British handbag and clothing company also revealed sliding sales for the second half of its financial year, with sharp falls in Hong Kong and Macau. Sales declined 1 percent to £1.41 billion (US$2 billion) in the six months to the end of last month. That compared with a 9 percent increase at the same stage of the previous financial year. Burberry’s financial year runs from April to the end of March.
FOOD
Nestle sales rise 3.9%
Nestle SA, the world’s biggest food company, reported first-quarter sales that beat analysts’ estimates, as Nescafe and Nespresso were boosted by marketing to ward off increased competition in coffee. Sales rose 3.9 percent on an organic basis, the Vevey, Switzerland-based maker of KitKat bars and Perrier water said yesterday. The first-quarter growth rate is the slowest since 2009. Shipments rose 3 percent, Nestle said. Pricing boosted sales by 0.9 percentage point.
BANKING
JPMorgan unveils income
US banking giant JPMorgan Chase & Co on Wednesday announced better-than-expected net income for the first quarter, despite taking another hit from its exposure to the commodity rout. The bank reported net income for the first quarter was US$5.5 billion, down 6.7 percent from the same period a year earlier. That translated into US$1.35 per share. Revenue dipped 3 percent to US$24.1 billion.
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