GERMANY
Consumer confidence strong
A closely watched survey showed consumers remain confident, but underlying figures indicate rising financial concerns amid negotiations over Greek debt and the possibility of a British exit from the EU. The GfK research group yesterday said its forward-looking consumer climate index rose to 9.8 points for next month from 9.7 this month, driven by increases in consumers’ expectations about the general economic situation and their own propensity to buy. At the same time, the survey of 2,000 consumers showed increasing concerns about their own financial situation over the next year.
BRAZIL
Deficit plan approved
Congress early yesterday approved a deficit spending plan proposed by the government of interim president Michel Temer after 16 hours of debate. The government said it is facing a record 170.5 billion reais (US$48 billion) primary budget deficit this year, far higher than suspended president Dilma Rousseff’s earlier fiscal target of a 97 billion reais deficit. The new deficit target reflects what the economy team said is a significantly worse financial picture uncovered after Rousseff’s departure.
INTERNET
France raids Google offices
Police and two dozen computer experts raided Google’s Paris offices on Tuesday in a fraud probe, with the US Internet giant already suspected of owing 1.6 billion euros (US$1.7 billion) in back taxes. The French authorities suspect Google of “aggravated tax fraud and conspiracy to conceal [it],” the national financial prosecution service said in a statement. “We respect French legislation and are fully cooperating with the authorities to answer their questions,” a Google spokeswoman said.
INTERNET
Microsoft announces grants
Microsoft Corp is joining other tech giants attempting to deliver the Internet to remote parts of the world. The Redmond, Washington, company on Tuesday announced 12 grants to small firms around the world that provide online access, software or related services. The company said its smaller-scale approach of grants, averaging about US$75,000 apiece in places like Africa, India and rural Maine, is intended to better allow local entrepreneurs to provide services tailored to needs in specific regions.
STEELMAKERS
Javid meets Tata bosses
British Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills Sajid Javid met with Tata Steel Ltd bosses in Mumbai, India, ahead of a crunch board meeting yesterday expected to discuss potential buyers for its loss-making UK assets. Tata Steel in March announced that it planned to sell its Port Talbot plant in Wales and other assets, putting 15,000 jobs at risk. Javid held discussions with Tata Group chairman Cyrus Mistry late on Tuesday, a day after a deadline passed for the submission of bids to acquire Tata Steel’s struggling British steelworks.
RETAIL
Best Buy outlook downbeat
Best Buy Co on Tuesday offered a disappointing profit outlook for the current quarter, weighed in part by a recent earthquake in Japan that hurt the availability of some highly profitable products. The consumer electronics chain also said its chief financial officer, Sharon McCollam, is stepping down. The company now expects adjusted earnings between US$0.38 and US$0.42 per share in the current quarter.
BUSINESS UPDATE: The iPhone assembler said operations outlook is expected to show quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year growth for the second quarter Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday reported strong growth in sales last month, potentially raising expectations for iPhone sales while artificial intelligence (AI)-related business booms. The company, which assembles the majority of Apple Inc’s smartphones, reported a 19.03 percent rise in monthly sales to NT$510.9 billion (US$15.78 billion), from NT$429.22 billion in the same period last year. On a monthly basis, sales rose 14.16 percent, it said. The company in a statement said that last month’s revenue was a record-breaking April performance. Hon Hai, known also as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), assembles most iPhones, but the company is diversifying its business to
Apple Inc has been developing a homegrown chip to run artificial intelligence (AI) tools in data centers, although it is unclear if the semiconductor would ever be deployed, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. The effort would build on Apple’s previous efforts to make in-house chips, which run in its iPhones, Macs and other devices, according to the Journal, which cited unidentified people familiar with the matter. The server project is code-named ACDC (Apple Chips in Data Center) within the company, aiming to utilize Apple’s expertise in chip design for the company’s server infrastructure, the newspaper said. While this initiative has been
GlobalWafers Co (環球晶圓), the world’s No. 3 silicon wafer supplier, yesterday said that revenue would rise moderately in the second half of this year, driven primarily by robust demand for advanced wafers used in high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, a key component of artificial intelligence (AI) technology. “The first quarter is the lowest point of this cycle. The second half will be better than the first for the whole semiconductor industry and for GlobalWafers,” chairwoman Doris Hsu (徐秀蘭) said during an online investors’ conference. “HBM would definitely be the key growth driver in the second half,” Hsu said. “That is our big hope
The consumer price index (CPI) last month eased to 1.95 percent, below the central bank’s 2 percent target, as food and entertainment cost increases decelerated, helped by stable egg prices, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday. The slowdown bucked predictions by policymakers and academics that inflationary pressures would build up following double-digit electricity rate hikes on April 1. “The latest CPI data came after the cost of eating out and rent grew moderately amid mixed international raw material prices,” DGBAS official Tsao Chih-hung (曹志弘) told a news conference in Taipei. The central bank in March raised interest rates by