UNITED KINGDOM
Interest rates cut unlikely
The economy barely slowed in the third quarter despite the Brexit vote shock, further diminishing the chance of a fresh interest rate cut by the Bank of England next week. GDP expanded by 0.5 percent in the July-to-September period, less rapid than the unusually strong growth of 0.7 percent seen in the second quarter, but comfortably above a median forecast of 0.3 percent in a Reuters poll of economists. Compared with the third quarter of last year, growth picked up to 2.3 percent, the strongest pace in more than a year, according to the preliminary figures from the Office for National Statistics.
ACQUISITION
Fujitsu, Lenovo talk merger
Japan’s Fujitsu Ltd yesterday said it was in talks to merge its struggling PC business with Chinese computer giant Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想), sending its shares soaring 7.8 percent as the company also announced a recovery in profits. Tokyo-based Fujitsu said it and Lenovo, the world’s largest personal computer maker, are “exploring a strategic cooperation in the realm of research, development, design and manufacturing of personal computers for the global market.” The two firms are also talking with government-backed Development Bank of Japan for financial and strategic support.
AUTOMAKERS
VW profits bounce back
Volkswagen AG (VW) yesterday said profits bounced back to 2.34 billion euros (US$2.55 billion) in the third quarter from a large loss a year earlier, when it had one-time losses in anticipation of settling its scandal over cars rigged to cheat on diesel emissions tests. The figure for profit after tax reversed last year’s loss of 1.67 billion euros. For the year-earlier quarter, the company took a 6.7 billion euros charge in anticipation of looming costs for recalls, fixes and buybacks of cars with software that enabled the cheating. Third-quarter sales revenue rose 1 percent to 52.0 billion euros.
BANKING
Deutsche Bank reports profit
Deutsche Bank AG, under pressure from an impending settlement with the US Department of Justice, reported 278 million euros (US$303 million) in net profit for the third quarter as it strengthened its financial buffers against loss. The profit contrasted with a loss of 6 billion euros a year earlier, when the bank had large one-time charges. Chief executive officer John Cryan yesterday said on a conference call with analysts that “the results for the quarter show the resilience of our operating business in a tough environment and show the progress we are making toward restructuring the bank.”
COMMUNICATIONS
Nokia slides 12 percent
Nokia Oyj yesterday said it made a net loss in the third quarter and saw a 12 percent drop in sales amid a downturn in the networks industry, as the company reported combined results after the acquisition of Alcatel-Lucent SA. The Finland-based communications networks operator said the net loss was 125 million euros on sales of 5.9 billion euros in the period. A year earlier Nokia reported a stand-alone profit of 152 million euros on sales of 3 billion euros. The technologies section of the business more than doubled sales to 353 million euros, mainly due to a licensing agreement with South Korean Samsung Electronics Co.
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