TRADE
WTO cuts growth forecast
The WTO on Thursday lowered its global trade growth forecasts, citing increased trade tensions between large economies and heightened uncertainty. The Geneva-based trade body cut its estimate for this year by half a percentage point to a still-robust 3.9 percent. It predicts a further slowing of growth in volume terms next year to 3.7 percent. “While trade growth remains strong, this downgrade reflects the heightened tensions that we are seeing between major trading partners,” WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo said.
STEEL
Thyssenkrupp plans split
German steel company and industrial equipment maker Thyssenkrupp AG on Thursday said it plans to split into two firms in a setup that it said would be “much more focused and efficient.” The company said the new Thyssenkrupp Industrials AG would include the elevator and automotive supplies business. The other company, Thyssenkrupp Materials AG, would include Thyssenkrupp’s 50 percent interest in a joint venture merging its European steel operations with those of India’s Tata Steel Ltd, it said.
MACROECONOMICS
Japan output reverses up
Japan’s factory output edged up 0.7 percent last month from the previous month, the first rise in four months, the Ministry of Economic, Trade and Industry said yesterday. However, the increase was lower than market expectations of a 1.4 percent gain. The ministry and analysts predicted that factory output would keep increasing in the next few months. Meanwhile, the jobless rate stood at 2.4 percent last month, down slightly from 2.5 percent the previous month, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said yesterday.
RETAIL
Fung told to halt court action
Toys “R” Us Inc’s joint venture partner must drop a court action it filed against the retailer in Hong Kong because the case threatens the sale of Toys’ Asia operation, a federal judge ruled. The decision is designed to negate an order by a Hong Kong court to suspend the auction of the retailer’s Asia operation. Fung Retailing Ltd (馮氏零售) owns a 15 percent stake in that business and filed a case in Hong Kong, claiming it would be harmed by the way Toys was pursuing a sale.
INTERNET
Amazon opens NY store
Amazon.com Inc opened a new retail store in New York on Thursday, selling a range of products that get top ratings from customers of the online giant. The brick-and-mortar outlet in New York’s trendy Soho neighborhood sells consumer electronics, kitchen, home, toys, books and games, and “chose only the products that customers have rated 4 stars and above, or are top sellers, or are new and trending,” Amazon said in a statement.
PHARMACEUTICALS
UnitedHealth buys Genoa
UnitedHealth Group Inc bought pharmacy company Genoa Healthcare from private equity group Advent International. The price was about US$2.5 billion, according to a person familiar with the transaction. UnitedHealth, the biggest US health insurer, beat out other parties, including drugstore chain Walgreens Boots Alliance, which last month was said to be interested in Genoa, the person said. Genoa runs more than 425 pharmacies in behavioral-health centers in 46 states, according to its Web site, serving more than 650,000 people.
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
RECORD-BREAKING: TSMC’s net profit last quarter beat market expectations by expanding 8.9% and it was the best first-quarter profit in the chipmaker’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which counts Nvidia Corp as a key customer, yesterday said that artificial intelligence (AI) server chip revenue is set to more than double this year from last year amid rising demand. The chipmaker expects the growth momentum to continue in the next five years with an annual compound growth rate of 50 percent, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors yesterday. By 2028, AI chips’ contribution to revenue would climb to about 20 percent from a percentage in the low teens, Wei said. “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”