ECONOMY
Australia cuts interest rate
The Reserve Bank of Australia yesterday cut its benchmark interest rate to a record-low 1.5 percent in a bid to jolt the nation’s sluggish economy amid low inflation rates. The central bank cut the cash rate by a quarter percentage point from its previous low of 1.75 percent. The board last cut rates in May. In a statement accompanying the decision, Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Glenn Stevens cited the nation’s low inflation rates as a driver behind the cut. Annual inflation is just 1 percent, far below the bank’s target of 2 to 3 percent. Stevens said growth in Australia was continuing at a moderate pace despite a “very large decline” in business investment. Economists had largely predicted the cut.
TELECOMS
Philippine’s profit plunges
Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co’s profit fell 33 percent in the second quarter as the nation’s largest phone carrier booked losses for its investment in Germany-based Rocket Internet SE and as earnings from its mobile-phone, data and landline businesses were little changed. Net income was 6.25 billion pesos (US$133 million) in the three months that ended in June, compared with 9.34 billion pesos a year ago, the company said yesterday in a statement. The carrier also said it would cut its dividend payout to 60 percent of core income from 75 percent to compensate for an increase in spending.
REAL ESTATE
Vonovia raises forecast
Vonovia SE, Germany’s biggest residential landlord, yesterday raised its full-year earnings forecast for a second time, citing efficiency created by a string of acquisitions. Funds from operations excluding sales will be as much as 760 million euros (US$848 million) this year, compared with a previous forecast of as much as 740 million euros, Vonovia said. The Bochum-based company also said funds from operations in the first half rose 44 percent to 387.8 million euros.
INVESTMENT
European shares fall
European shares yesterday hit a two-week low following poor results from some firms, including Metro and chipmaker Infineon, and another day of weak performance for the banking sector. The STOXX 600 fell 0.8 percent, its lowest level since July 19. Commerzbank fell 7 percent, the worst performer on the index, after warning that its earnings would fall this year. Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank fell 4.7 percent and 2.9 percent respectively after STOXX said they will be dropped from the STOXX Europe 50 index from Monday next week. Europe’s banking index fell 2.3 percent to its lowest in three weeks. German retailer Metro fell 5.4 percent after reported an unexpected loss in its fiscal third quarter largely due to restructuring costs at its core wholesale business. Infineon shares were down more than 4 percent after its profit and sales missed predictions.
AUTOMAKERS
Honda beats forecasts
Honda Motor Co yesterday posted a better-than-expected ¥174.6 billion profit (US$1.7 billion) for the fiscal first quarter as it gradually recovers from damage caused by a quake in April. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast at ¥133 billion quarterly profit. Honda said profit fell 6 percent from a year ago, when the automaker earned ¥186 billion. The massive air-bag recall at its supplier Takata and a strong yen are hurting the company’s results. Honda kept its full year forecasts unchanged at ¥390 billion in profit, up 13 percent from the previous year.
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
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
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