BANKING
Fed governor approved
The US Senate on Thursday approved the nomination of investor Randal Quarles as a US Federal Reserve Board governor in charge of banking oversight. Quarles, 60, who served as undersecretary of the US Department of the Treasury under former US president George W. Bush and previously worked in private equity, was confirmed by a vote of 65 to 32. As a Fed governor, he will also sit on the US Federal Open Market Committee.
FRANCE
Growth forecast up to 1.8%
The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies on Thursday hiked its forecast for economic growth this year to 1.8 percent, which would be the fastest expansion in six years. The agency now expects the economy to expand by 0.5 percent quarter-on-quarter in both the third and fourth quarters of the year. Business investment is expected to accelerate by 3.9 percent this year, up from 3.4 percent last year, while households are also expected to increase their investments by 5 percent this year, the highest rate since 2006, the agency said.
INDUSTRY
‘German-made’ in demand
Industrial orders in Germany jumped in August, driven by strong overseas demand for German-made goods, data showed yesterday. German industrial orders climbed by 3.6 percent from July, after falling by 0.4 percent the previous month, the German Federal Statistical Office said in a statement. While domestic demand was robust, with orders from German customers rising by 2.7 percent, export demand was even stronger, with overseas orders expanding by as much as 4.3 percent, it said.
AUTOMAKERS
Renault raises targets
Renault SA raised mid-term sales and earnings targets as part of the French carmaker’s plan to protect its leadership in battery-powered autos and keep pace with rivals in driverless models. Renault is to boost its annual revenue through 2022 to more than a previous target of 70 billion euros (US$82 billion) and the operating margin will exceed an earlier prediction of 7 percent of sales as efficiency measures generate savings of 4.2 billion euros. With investments of 18 billion euros, the company will bring out eight pure-electric and 12 hybrid models in the period, and develop 15 vehicles with autonomous features.
ENTERTAINMENT
Netflix prices to rise
Netflix Inc on Thursday said it is bumping up subscription prices in the US and a handful of European countries including France, Britain and Germany, as the leading online streaming service invests in more shows and features. Shares of the Silicon Valley-based company jumped more than 4 percent to US$192.44 in trading following news of the relatively small price hike. The company in July reported that ranks of subscribers to its streaming service grew in the second quarter of this year to 103.95 million.
MANUFACTURING
Siemens pulls out of lighting
Siemens AG’s complete withdrawal from the lighting industry further scales back the once sprawling German conglomerate. Munich-based Siemens on Wednesday completed the sale of its remaining 17 percent stake in light manufacturer Osram Licht AG, raising about 1.2 billion euros and exiting a business in which it was involved for the better part of a century. Siemens sold 18.1 million shares that were offered to institutional investors, the company said.
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