UNITED STATES
Businesses worried
Despite continued economic growth, businesses and farmers are increasingly concerned about the trade spat with China, which already has pushed prices higher, a Federal Reserve survey released on Wednesday found. In the wake of the steep tariffs imposed last month by President Donald Trump, steel and aluminum prices have risen around the country, in some cases with double-digit increases, the Fed said. Industries and retailers across the country also continue to report difficulty finding skilled workers, the nationwide Beige Book survey showed.
RUSSIA
Moody’s says nation safe
Rating agency Moody’s Investors Service on Wednesday said the nation’s strong public and external finances would shield its economy from the effect of the latest US sanctions. However, the sanctions would be credit negative for some debt issuers, especially aluminum giant United Company Rusal PLC, Moody’s said. The banking system has enough earnings capacity to absorb credit losses arising from exposures to sanctioned companies, Moody’s said.
MEDIA
21CF turned down Comcast
Media giant 21st Century Fox Inc (21CF), which was sold to Walt Disney Co in December last year, rejected a higher buyout offer from Comcast Corp over fears of regulatory risks, a filing on Wednesday showed. The joint regulatory filing by Fox and Disney said a buyout by cable operator Comcast “carried a more significant risk of exposure to a range of negative outcomes for 21CF,” while “a transaction with Disney would provide superior closing certainty as a result of the lower regulatory risk faced by Disney.” Comcast had offered US$34.40 per share compared with Disney’s US$29.
FOOD
Nestle SA sales improve
Nestle SA’s first-quarter revenue growth got a boost as the US returned to expansion, fueled by improvements in its pet-care business. Sales rose 2.8 percent on an organic basis, the Vevey, Switzerland-based maker of KitKat chocolate said yesterday. Analysts expected 2.5 percent. In the US, the pet-care business improved amid stronger demand for natural food and online sales. The company reiterated its forecast for organic sales growth of 2 to 4 percent this year.
TRANSPORTATION
Uber, Zane Rowe in talks
Uber Technologies Inc has chosen VMware Inc’s Zane Rowe as the top candidate for chief financial officer to lead preparations for what could be the biggest initial public offering of next year, people familiar with the matter said. The ride-hailing company is in advanced talks with Rowe, who has the same position at VMware, said the people, who asked not to be identified. An agreement has not been finalized and negotiations could fall through, one of the people said. Uber and VMware declined to comment.
CONSUMER GOODS
Unilever sales decline
Anglo-Dutch consumer giant Unilever PLC yesterday revealed its first-quarter sales fell compared with last year, announcing a six billion euros (US$7.42 billion) buy-back scheme ahead of the spin-off of its spreads division. Turnover in the first three months was down 5.2 percent to 12.6 billion euros, falling from 13.3 billion euros reported in the same period last year. Unilever chief executive officer Pol Polman said that the buy-back program would be launched next month.
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