SOUTH KOREA
Exports jump 22% annually
The nation’s exports are holding up just fine so far as a US-China trade war escalates, with shipments jumping by the most in a year in the first 20 days of this month. Exports rose 22 percent from the same period a year earlier, the biggest increase since September last year, preliminary Korea Customs Service data released yesterday showed. As usual, semiconductors, petroleum goods and cars led the way. Exports to China rose 29 percent in the period, while those to the US jumped 18.6 percent, the data showed.
JAPAN
Consumer prices edge up
Consumer prices last month edged up modestly, according to government data released yesterday, as the world’s third-largest economy continued its years-long battle with deflation. Inflation stood at 0.9 percent year-on-year, still far below the Bank of Japan’s 2 percent target, but slightly higher than 0.8 percent in July and June and 0.7 percent in May. With fresh food and energy stripped out, prices last month rose by even less — just 0.4 percent year-on-year, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said.
JAPAN
PMI rises to 52.9 this month
The manufacturing sector added strength this month, which should further allay concerns about slowing growth in a sector that has been in expansion for two years. The Nikkei Japan purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for manufacturers showed a preliminary reading of 52.9 this month, up from 52.5 last month, according to IHS Markit Ltd, which compiles the survey. New orders came in at 53.3, up from 52.4. A reading above 50 indicates the sector is expanding, while one below that signals a contraction.
NORWAY
Central bank raises key rate
The central bank has raised its key policy rate by one-quarter of a percentage point to 0.75 percent — its first increase in seven years. Norges Bank on Thursday said “the upturn in the Norwegian economy continues” and that “if the key policy rate is kept at the current level for too long, price and wage inflation may accelerate, and financial imbalances build up further.” Bank Governor Oeystein Olsen also said a further increase could be delivered in the first quarter of next year.
TURKEY
Growth projected to slow
The government expects lower economic growth in coming years amid concerns over inflation and a sliding currency. Minister of Finance and Treasury Berat Albayrak on Thursday presented the government’s economic plan, which estimates 2.3 percent growth next year and 3.5 percent in 2020. The previous forecast was 5.5 percent for both years. Albayrak estimated that inflation would be 20.8 percent this year. The lira has lost about 40 percent against the US dollar this year, sharply raising the price of imports.
BANKING
RBS suffers online outage
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) yesterday became the latest UK lender to suffer tech problems this week, saying that it was working to fix issues with its online and mobile banking services. The outage also affected National Westminster Bank PLC, RBS’ most highly rated brand among customers. RBS is the fourth financial services firm this week to suffer an outage, with Barclays PLC, Co-operative Bank PLC and Cashplus all apologizing to their customers for disruptions to their services.
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