UNITED KINGDOM
Consumer spending down
Inflation’s hold on the consumer is tightening and the economy is suffering as a result. Consumer spending fell an annual 0.8 percent last month, the first decline since September 2013, according to IHS Markit and Visa Inc. Separately, accountancy firm BDO said its business activity index weakened as services, the largest part of the economy, ground to a halt. Citing the impact of the weaker pound, it said services companies are seeing no growth in demand. The latest numbers highlight the economic challenge facing Prime Minister Theresa May, who reshuffled some ministers at the weekend after an election that saw her lose her Parliament majority. The vote, which forced May into an alliance to keep power, adds to uncertainty just as the government is about to begin talks on its exit from the EU. “The services sector is definitely slowing down, with many blaming this on the snap election, but the downward trend is clearly much more deeply rooted than this. Surprisingly, UK businesses remain optimistic about the future, but an immediate recovery seems unlikely,” BDO partner Peter Hemington said.
INVESTMENT
Oasis snubs Panasonic offer
Oasis Management Co’s Seth Fischer said his hedge fund will not tender its shares in Panasonic Corp’s sweetened offer for its listed subsidiary PanaHome Corp because the terms are still “unfair.” Oasis plans to seek a court appraisal of a fair price for the purchase, Oasis chief investment officer Fischer said in an interview in Hong Kong, where the fund is based. Fischer questioned the process for the tender offer, which runs until today, saying minority shareholders’ interests have not been properly considered. He said Oasis owns 9.9 percent of PanaHome. Representatives for PanaHome and Panasonic said the price offered by Panasonic is fair. “I’m not satisfied,” Fischer said. “I’m going to pursue my rights.” Oasis is PanaHome’s second-biggest shareholder after Panasonic, according to data compiled by Bloomberg based on the latest regulatory filings available. Panasonic altered the terms of its offer for the home builder in April, switching from a share exchange to a tender offer at ¥1,200 per share, after Oasis said the previously agreed deal was at a “cheap price.” Oasis received a valuation opinion that PanaHome is worth ¥1,954 per share.
ELECTRONICS
Microsoft unveils console
Microsoft Corp on Sunday unveiled Xbox One X — billing it as the most powerful video console ever made and escalating a battle with market king PlayStation of Sony Corp. The US$499 product was built with the muscle for seamless play on ultra-high-definition 4K televisions and is expected to be available worldwide on Nov. 7, Xbox team leader Phil Spencer said. He introduced the much anticipated Xbox One X, called Scorpio during development, at a Microsoft event ahead of the official opening of the major Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles. Aiming at the hearts of gamers, Microsoft also showed off 42 coming games, with 22 titles being tailored for exclusive play on Xbox One consoles. Independent publishers tend to make blockbuster titles available for play on Xbox, PlayStation and PC hardware in an effort to sell creations to as broad an audience as possible. The new console is to be compatible with older Xbox games and accessories. Microsoft and rival Sony Corp are trying to update their video-game machines more frequently to phase out the notion of upgrading once about seven years.
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
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
RECORD-BREAKING: TSMC’s net profit last quarter beat market expectations by expanding 8.9% and it was the best first-quarter profit in the chipmaker’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which counts Nvidia Corp as a key customer, yesterday said that artificial intelligence (AI) server chip revenue is set to more than double this year from last year amid rising demand. The chipmaker expects the growth momentum to continue in the next five years with an annual compound growth rate of 50 percent, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors yesterday. By 2028, AI chips’ contribution to revenue would climb to about 20 percent from a percentage in the low teens, Wei said. “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the
FUTURE PLANS: Although the electric vehicle market is getting more competitive, Hon Hai would stick to its goal of seizing a 5 percent share globally, Young Liu said Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), a major iPhone assembler and supplier of artificial intelligence (AI) servers powered by Nvidia Corp’s chips, yesterday said it has introduced a rotating chief executive structure as part of the company’s efforts to cultivate future leaders and to enhance corporate governance. The 50-year-old contract electronics maker reported sizable revenue of NT$6.16 trillion (US$189.67 billion) last year. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), has been under the control of one man almost since its inception. A rotating CEO system is a rarity among Taiwanese businesses. Hon Hai has given leaders of the company’s six