MINING
Glencore returns to profit
Mining and commodities giant Glencore PLC yesterday said that it had bounced back into profit in the first half of this year and the long-term outlook was good as the widespread adoption of electric vehicles would boost demand for raw materials. Net profit at the Switzerland-based company came in at US$2.4 billion, compared with a loss of US$369 million in the first half of last year, on the back of a rebound in commodity prices and efforts by the firm to clean up its balance sheet.
STEELMAKERS
ThyssenKrupp affirms goals
German manufacturer and steelmaker ThyssenKrupp AG yesterday confirmed its objectives for its full financial year, saying it was confident after a solid third quarter with continued growth in orders. Net profit at the group reached 120 million euros (US$140.8 million) between April and June, about 8 percent less than the same period in 2015 and last year. However, revenue grew 11 percent to reach 10.9 billion euros, while operating, or underlying, profits grew 41 percent to reach 620 million euros on an adjusted basis, the firm said.
TOURISM
TUI optimistic on full year
German travel group TUI Group yesterday confirmed a bright outlook for its full financial year as summer bookings lifted the mood following a net loss in the first half. TUI, whose business year runs from October to September, reported net profit of 47.7 million euros between April and June, a fall of about 45 percent compared with the same period last year. Operating profit grew 37.2 percent to 221.6 million euros on an adjusted basis, on the back of revenue rising 12.6 percent to almost 4.8 billion euros, the firm said.
NEW ZEALAND
Base rate kept at record low
Reserve Bank of New Zealand yesterday kept its base rate at a record-low 1.75 percent with no sign of a change in the near future. Governor Graeme Wheeler, who retires next month, said economic growth was expected to improve in the coming months supported by strong population growth and government spending detailed in a May budget. However, he said headline inflation was likely to decline in coming quarters as the effects of higher fuel and food prices dissipate.
VENEZUELA
Economy to contract: group
The nation’s asphyxiating economy is this year expected to contract between 7 percent and 10 percent, the head of main business chamber Fedecamaras said on Wednesday at the Reuters Latin America Investment Summit in Caracas. Fedecamaras’ president said that leftist President Nicolas Maduro’s new, globally condemned legislative superbody would only deepen a severe economic crisis, in which millions are suffering food and medicine shortages.
TOYMAKERS
Lego appoints new CEO
Danish toy company Lego said it has appointed Niels Christiansen, who headed thermostat maker Danfoss A/S for nine years, as its chief executive. Lego chairman Joergen Vig Knudstorp yesterday said that Christiansen replaced Bali Padda, who took over as interim CEO in January. Vig Knudstorp said Christiansen, 51, is to start on Oct. 1. In March, Lego said revenue last year grew 6 percent to 37.9 billion Danish kroner (US$6 billion), the highest figure in the company’s 85-year history. The privately held group’s net profit rose to 9.4 billion kroner.
ISSUES: Gogoro has been struggling with ballooning losses and was recently embroiled in alleged subsidy fraud, using Chinese-made components instead of locally made parts Gogoro Inc (睿能創意), the nation’s biggest electric scooter maker, yesterday said that its chairman and CEO Horace Luke (陸學森) has resigned amid chronic losses and probes into the company’s alleged involvement in subsidy fraud. The board of directors nominated Reuntex Group (潤泰集團) general counsel Tamon Tseng (曾夢達) as the company’s new chairman, Gogoro said in a statement. Ruentex is Gogoro’s biggest stakeholder. Gogoro Taiwan general manager Henry Chiang (姜家煒) is to serve as acting CEO during the interim period, the statement said. Luke’s departure came as a bombshell yesterday. As a company founder, he has played a key role in pushing for the
China has claimed a breakthrough in developing homegrown chipmaking equipment, an important step in overcoming US sanctions designed to thwart Beijing’s semiconductor goals. State-linked organizations are advised to use a new laser-based immersion lithography machine with a resolution of 65 nanometers or better, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said in an announcement this month. Although the note does not specify the supplier, the spec marks a significant step up from the previous most advanced indigenous equipment — developed by Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment Group Co (SMEE, 上海微電子) — which stood at about 90 nanometers. MIIT’s claimed advances last
CROSS-STRAIT TENSIONS: The US company could switch orders from TSMC to alternative suppliers, but that would lower chip quality, CEO Jensen Huang said Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳), whose products have become the hottest commodity in the technology world, on Wednesday said that the scramble for a limited amount of supply has frustrated some customers and raised tensions. “The demand on it is so great, and everyone wants to be first and everyone wants to be most,” he told the audience at a Goldman Sachs Group Inc technology conference in San Francisco. “We probably have more emotional customers today. Deservedly so. It’s tense. We’re trying to do the best we can.” Huang’s company is experiencing strong demand for its latest generation of chips, called
GLOBAL ECONOMY: Policymakers have a choice of a small 25 basis-point cut or a bold cut of 50 basis points, which would help the labor market, but might reignite inflation The US Federal Reserve is gearing up to announce its first interest rate cut in more than four years on Wednesday, with policymakers expected to debate how big a move to make less than two months before the US presidential election. Senior officials at the US central bank including Fed Chairman Jerome Powell have in recent weeks indicated that a rate cut is coming this month, as inflation eases toward the bank’s long-term target of two percent, and the labor market continues to cool. The Fed, which has a dual mandate from the US Congress to act independently to ensure