GERMANY
Factory orders soar
Factory orders rose 3.4 percent in February, driven by robust domestic demand, following a sharp decline in January. The Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy yesterday said that February domestic orders were up 8.1 percent over the previous month, while foreign orders remained flat as a drop of 2.4 percent inside the eurozone was offset by a 1.6 percent increase from outside the bloc. Orders for intermediate goods surged 8.5 percent, while demand for investment goods edged up 0.3 percent and that for consumer goods increased 2.7 percent, the ministry said.
RUSSIA
Poverty numbers near 20m
The number of Russians living in poverty last year reached nearly 20 million — a decade high — after sanctions over Ukraine and an oil crisis battered the economy, official figures showed on Wednesday. About 19.8 million people — more than 13 percent of the population — were living with incomes below the minimum deemed acceptable, the figures from statistics agency Rosstat showed, an uptick from 19.5 million in 2015. Incomes in the nation are highly volatile between the seasons, with poverty in the fourth quarter defined as living on less than 9,691 rubles (US$171 per month.
RETAIL
Seven to buy Sunoco
Seven & i Holdings Co, the world’s largest convenience store operator, agreed to acquire Sunoco LP retail shops and gasoline businesses for US$3.3 billion in a record deal for the Japanese company as it seeks to expand in the US. The deal is to add 1,108 gas stations and convenience stores in Texas and the eastern US. Sunoco’s retail unit — which includes more than 1,300 stores — last year reported operating income of US$103 million on revenue of US$7.7 billion. With the acquisition, “7-Eleven Inc will expand its store network and offer greater convenience, while also improving profitability,” Seven & i said in a statement yesterday. 7-Eleven will also sign a contract to receive gasoline from Sunoco for the next 15 years. 7-Eleven is aiming to have 10,000 stores by the fiscal 2020, according to the statement.
ENERGY
Aramco to raise US$3bn
Saudi Aramco is planning to raise 11.25 billion riyals (US$3 billion) from its debut Islamic bond, according to a person with knowledge of the offering, boosting the size of the sale because of investor demand. Aramco, as the world’s largest oil producer is known, is selling the debt with a seven-year tenure in a private placement at 25 basis points over the Saudi interbank offered rate, the person said, asking not to be identified as the information is private. The company increased the size of the bond — known as sukuk — after demand exceeded supply, the person said.
ENERGY
GE mulls lightbulb unit sale
The company created by the inventor of the lightbulb seems to have a dim view of its future relationship with the device. The Wall Street Journal said in a report citing unnamed sources that General Electric Co (GE) is considering selling its lightbulb business. The newspaper said GE has been talking to investment banks about its lighting business, which could fetch about US$500 million. The company was cofounded by Thomas Edison more than 100 years ago. A GE spokeswoman declined to comment.
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