FINANCE
BOE’s Hogg hinted Visa CEO
Charlotte Hogg, who resigned as the Bank of England’s (BOE) deputy governor in March over concerns about a potential conflict of interest, is in talks to take over as chief executive at Visa Europe, Sky News reported on Saturday. Hogg, who was one of BOE Governor Mark Carney’s most trusted lieutenants, stepped down following criticism by lawmakers that her role was untenable because her brother was responsible for guiding Barclays’ response to bank regulation, which is overseen by the BOE. Sky, citing an unnamed source close to the central bank, said Visa Europe had held preliminary talks with the central bank about the implications of Hogg taking on the job as its chief executive. A Visa Europe spokeswoman declined to comment on the report.
AUTOMOTIVE
Continental flanges probed
US safety regulators are trying to track down gas tank flanges that can crack and cause fuel leaks on what could be millions of cars and trucks. The government began investigating parts made by German supplier Continental AG after the company filed recall documents this week saying the flanges could be defective. Documents posted on Friday say Continental sold the flanges to 11 automakers and five parts companies. The polymer flanges cover openings in the fuel tank. If they leak, that increases the risk of fire. Volkswagen AG, Porsche and Audi already have recalled nearly a half-million vehicles due to the problem. With other automakers possibly involved, Continental’s recall could spread to millions of vehicles.
REAL-ESTATE
Ashkenazy buys hotel
Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp, the US real-estate investor that recently bought a stake in New York’s Plaza Hotel, said that it has acquired the Grosvenor House hotel in London, helping resolve an imbroglio that kept ownership of the famed properties in limbo for three years. Terms of the purchase, announced on Friday, have not been disclosed. The Grosvenor House acquisition “reflects a continued aggressive focus” on buying an additional 2 billion euros (US$2.3 billion) of “global iconic assets” over the next two years, New York-based Ashkenazy said in a statement. The Grosvenor House opened in 1929 on Park Lane in the Mayfair neighborhood, one of London’s poshest. Ashkenazy’s other holdings include Union Station in Washington, Faneuil Hall Marketplace in Boston, and 625 Madison Avenue in New York. The firm has assets valued at more than US$10 billion with a focus on retail, hotel, office and residential properties, according to the statement.
MINING
Iron ore predicted to plunge
Iron ore could sink back below US$50 a tonne next year as global supply expands and demand moderates in China, according to Australia, the biggest exporter, which released its revised outlook just hours before the country’s largest port reported record shipments for last month. The raw material would average US$49.10 next year, 4.8 percent below a previous estimate, and hold near that level in 2019, the Australian Department of Industry, Innovation and Science estimated in a regular quarterly report on Friday. Prices are seen at US$62.40 this year, bolstered by demand from China’s steel sector before easing over the next two years, according to the forecaster. The department’s projections add to warnings from Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Citigroup Inc that increasing supply from low-cost miners would probably hurt prices.
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