CHINA
Cash supply up to year high
The central bank boosted the supply of cash in the financial system to the most since January, with demand surging amid a seasonal funding squeeze. The People’s Bank of China injected a net 410 billion yuan (US$60.2 billion) through reverse-repurchase agreements this week, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The benchmark seven-day repurchase rate yesterday fell 12 basis points to 2.88 percent, headed for the second weekly decline in a row, according to a weighted average. The addition of funds is to help alleviate concern that an official deleveraging campaign would exacerbate a cash shortage at the end of the month caused by regulatory checks on banks.
JAPAN
Lax monetary policy to stay
The Bank of Japan has opted to keep its lax monetary policy intact, while noting signs of improvement. A statement issued yesterday by the bank said it expects demand to accelerate, supporting a “moderate expansion.” The central bank’s key interest rate remains at minus 0.1 percent. While the US Federal Reserve is raising rates, Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda appears determined to persist with a policy of “qualitative and quantitative easing” to help attain an inflation rate of about 2 percent. The statement said inflation expectations in Japan remain in a “weakening phase,” suggesting major policy changes are unlikely in the near future.
UNITED KINGDOM
Interest frozen at 0.25%
The Bank of England on Thursday froze interest rates at a record-low 0.25 percent as expected, but revealed that three policymakers surprisingly called for a hike to counter surging inflation. The bank’s monetary policy committee voted five to three in favor of keeping its key interest rate at 0.25 percent, where it has stood since August last year. Committee members Ian McCafferty and Michael Saunders joined Kristin Forbes in voting for an increase to 0.5 percent, meeting minutes showed.
AUTO PARTS
Takata to file bankruptcy
Takata Corp, the Japanese company facing billions of US dollars in liabilities stemming from its defective airbag inflators, is preparing to file for bankruptcy as early as next week as it works toward a deal for financial backing from US auto parts maker Key Safety Systems Inc, sources said on Thursday. A person briefed on the matter said that Key was expected to acquire Takata assets as part of a restructuring in bankruptcy. The Nikkei business daily reported that a new company created under Key would purchase Takata operations for about ¥180 billion (US$1.6 billion) and continue supplying airbags, seat belts and other products, leaving liabilities behind in a separate entity.
AUTOMAKERS
European car sales up
European car sales bounced back last month after a slump in April, as a brightening economic outlook and political stability in France helped the sector get back on the recovery path. Industry-wide registrations rose 7.7 percent to 1.43 million vehicles last month after plunging 6.8 percent in April, the Brussels-based European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association said yesterday in a statement. Demand was led by Fiat models such as the 500 and Panda city cars as well as Mercedes-Benz vehicles like the revamped E-Class sedan. German car sales posted the strongest gain among large economies, with a 13 percent jump in registrations. Sales in France increased 8.9 percent, while demand in Italy rose 8.2 percent.
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