EUROZONE
Economic growth picks up
The economy this month grew at its fastest pace in six years on the back of strong demand and “widespread optimism” about the outlook, a closely watched survey showed yesterday. Data monitoring company IHS Markit said this month’s composite purchasing managers index (PMI) came in at 56.7 points, the highest reading since April 2011 and up from 56.4 points last month. The PMI measures companies’ willingness to invest in their business and so gives a good idea of how well the underlying economy is performing. IHS Markit said the 19-nation eurozone economy was doing well on all fronts.
UNITED KINGDOM
Retail sales plummet
Retail sales recorded their largest decline in seven years in the first quarter of this year as consumers felt the pinch from accelerating inflation. The volume of goods sold in stores and online fell 1.4 percent from the previous three months, the most since early 2010, the Office for National Statistics said yesterday. Last month alone, sales dropped 1.8 percent, far exceeding the 0.5 percent decline forecast by economists. The drop over the quarter knocks 0.08 percentage points off growth, the office said. Compared with a year earlier sales growth slowed from 3.7 percent to 1.7 percent.
FINANCE
Deal reached over 1MDB
Malaysia and Abu Dhabi have reached agreement on a partial debt settlement for embattled government fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), the Straits Times reported, citing financial executives it did not identify. Under a deal that could be signed as soon yesterday, Malaysia would pay Abu Dhabi US$1.2 billion before the end of this year and negotiate on a further US$3.5 billion, the Singapore-based paper said. A proposed settlement is being handled by the 1MDB board and management, and the Malaysian prime minister’s department, Malaysian Deputy Minister of Finance Johari Abdul Ghani said in a text message without elaborating.
ELECTRONICS
Sony profit beats forecast
Sony Corp yesterday reported preliminary operating profit of ¥285 billion (US$2.6 billion) for the fiscal year through last month, 19 percent higher than its previous forecast, according to a statement. The company also said net income would be about ¥73 billion, more than twice the previous forecast. That marks the second straight year operating profit has topped US$2 billion, the longest such streak since 2001. The company cited strong performance across most businesses and cost-savings in its insurance unit. Its chips division also saw lower expenses after a faster-than-expected recovery from last year’s earthquake in western Japan.
ENERGY
Chevron loses tax battle
Energy giant Chevron Corp yesterday lost its appeal in major battle against a A$269 million (US$203 million) tax bill in a case that could have global implications for multinationals looking to cut their obligations. The Australian Federal Court ruled in favor of a 2015 decision by the same court that the US giant had minimized its payments through a loan scheme and ordered it to foot costs, estimated by local media at more than A$10 million. The ruling followed an announcement by Canberra this month that seven multinationals were facing a total of A$2.9 billion in bills after assessing their tax arrangements.
purpose: Tesla’s CEO sought to meet senior Chinese officials to discuss the rollout of its ‘full self-driving’ software in China and approval to transfer data they had collected Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk arrived in Beijing yesterday on an unannounced visit, where he is expected to meet senior officials to discuss the rollout of "full self-driving" (FSD) software and permission to transfer data overseas, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Chinese state media reported that he met Premier Li Qiang (李強) in Beijing, during which Li told Musk that Tesla's development in China could be regarded as a successful example of US-China economic and trade cooperation. Musk confirmed his meeting with the premier yesterday with a post on social media platform X. "Honored to meet with Premier Li
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: The chipmaker last month raised its capital spending by 28 percent for this year to NT$32 billion from a previous estimate of NT$25 billion Contract chipmaker Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電子) yesterday launched a new 12-inch fab, tapping into advanced chip-on-wafer-on-substrate (CoWoS) packaging technology to support rising demand for artificial intelligence (AI) devices. Powerchip is to offer interposers, one of three parts in CoWoS packaging technology, with shipments scheduled for the second half of this year, Powerchip chairman Frank Huang (黃崇仁) told reporters on the sidelines of a fab inauguration ceremony in the Tongluo Science Park (銅鑼科學園區) in Miaoli County yesterday. “We are working with customers to supply CoWoS-related business, utilizing part of this new fab’s capacity,” Huang said, adding that Powerchip intended to bridge
Dutch brewing company Heineken NV on Friday announced an investment of NT$13.5 billion (US$414.62 million) over the next five years in Taiwan. The first multinational brewing company to operate in Taiwan, Heineken made the statement at a ceremony held at its brewery in Pingtung County. It also outlined its efforts to make the brewery “net zero” by 2030. Heineken has been in the Taiwanese market for 20 years, Heineken Taiwan managing director Jeff Wu (吳建甫) said. With strong support from local consumers, the Dutch brewery decided to transition from sales to manufacturing in the country, Wu said. Heineken assumed majority ownership and management rights
Microsoft Corp yesterday said that it would create Thailand’s first data center region to boost cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, promising AI training to more than 100,000 people to develop tech. Bangkok is a key economic player in Southeast Asia, but it has lagged behind Indonesia and Singapore when it comes to the tech industry. Thailand has an “incredible opportunity to build a digital-first, AI-powered future,” Microsoft chairman and chief executive officer Satya Nadella said at an event in Bangkok. Data center regions are physical locations that store computing infrastructure, allowing secure and reliable access to cloud platforms. The global embrace of AI