NEW ZEALAND
Central bank maintains rate
The central bank’s freeze on its benchmark interest rate extended to two years yesterday, with the Reserve Bank of New Zealand saying that there was little prospect of it moving from record lows until 2020. The official cash rate has been unchanged at 1.75 percent since November 2016 as the bank takes a hands-off approach to maintaining economic growth. Bank Governor Adrian Orr indicated there was no compelling reason for change.
GERMANY
Exports decline
Exports unexpectedly declined in September, a weak end to a quarter that could see the economy stagnate for the first time in more than three years. Exports fell 0.8 percent from August, missing forecasts for a 0.4 percent jump. Imports slipped 0.4 percent and the trade surplus widened to 18.4 billion euros (US$21 billion), the most since June, the Federal Statistics Office said yesterday.
UNITED STATES
China, India dumped pipes
The Department of Commerce on Wednesday said that it had found that China and India unfairly subsidized and dumped large-diameter welded pipes in the US. The department said it found that the two countries had sold the pipes at less than fair value, at rates ranging from 50.55 to 132.63 percent. It also said it found that the two countries had subsidized the products at rates of 198.49 to 541.15 percent.
AUTOMAKERS
BMW Q3 profit drops 24%
German luxury automaker BMW AG on Wednesday said that its net profit fell 24 percent in the third quarter of the year as the company spent more on new technology and faced market disruptions related to new EU emissions tests. Net profit fell to 1.4 billion euros from 1.84 billion euros in the same period last year, while revenue rose 4.7 percent to 24.74 billion euros.
FASHION
Burberry revenue slips 3%
Burberry Group PLC said it had seen an “exceptional response” to the creative vision of its new designer, Riccardo Tisci, after it reported a slight dip in first-half revenue and operating profit. Revenue was ¥1.22 billion (US$1.6 billion), down 3 percent, but ahead of analyst forecasts, and adjusted operating profit reached ¥178 million, down 4 percent. Burberry said its outlook for the full year was unchanged.
MEDIA
Papers boost News Corp
Profits rose in the past quarter at Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, led by gains in digital subscriptions at the Wall Street Journal, as well as newspapers in Britain and Australia, the company said on Wednesday. Net profit in the most recent quarter jumped 47 percent from a year ago to US$128 million on revenue that grew 23 percent to US$2.5 billion.
TECHNOLOGY
Lenovo posts one-off gains
Lenovo Group Ltd’s (聯想) net income beat analysts’ expectations by US$53 million, or 45 percent. While that upside surprise was helped by slightly stronger revenue and a slimmer operating-expense margin — from a reduction in sales and distribution costs — operating income benefited a lot from one-time accounting items. A fall in gross margin by 0.3 percentage points from a year earlier to 13.4 percent is a hint that profitability is not as solid as it looks.
purpose: Tesla’s CEO sought to meet senior Chinese officials to discuss the rollout of its ‘full self-driving’ software in China and approval to transfer data they had collected Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk arrived in Beijing yesterday on an unannounced visit, where he is expected to meet senior officials to discuss the rollout of "full self-driving" (FSD) software and permission to transfer data overseas, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Chinese state media reported that he met Premier Li Qiang (李強) in Beijing, during which Li told Musk that Tesla's development in China could be regarded as a successful example of US-China economic and trade cooperation. Musk confirmed his meeting with the premier yesterday with a post on social media platform X. "Honored to meet with Premier Li
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: The chipmaker last month raised its capital spending by 28 percent for this year to NT$32 billion from a previous estimate of NT$25 billion Contract chipmaker Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電子) yesterday launched a new 12-inch fab, tapping into advanced chip-on-wafer-on-substrate (CoWoS) packaging technology to support rising demand for artificial intelligence (AI) devices. Powerchip is to offer interposers, one of three parts in CoWoS packaging technology, with shipments scheduled for the second half of this year, Powerchip chairman Frank Huang (黃崇仁) told reporters on the sidelines of a fab inauguration ceremony in the Tongluo Science Park (銅鑼科學園區) in Miaoli County yesterday. “We are working with customers to supply CoWoS-related business, utilizing part of this new fab’s capacity,” Huang said, adding that Powerchip intended to bridge
Dutch brewing company Heineken NV on Friday announced an investment of NT$13.5 billion (US$414.62 million) over the next five years in Taiwan. The first multinational brewing company to operate in Taiwan, Heineken made the statement at a ceremony held at its brewery in Pingtung County. It also outlined its efforts to make the brewery “net zero” by 2030. Heineken has been in the Taiwanese market for 20 years, Heineken Taiwan managing director Jeff Wu (吳建甫) said. With strong support from local consumers, the Dutch brewery decided to transition from sales to manufacturing in the country, Wu said. Heineken assumed majority ownership and management rights
Microsoft Corp yesterday said that it would create Thailand’s first data center region to boost cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, promising AI training to more than 100,000 people to develop tech. Bangkok is a key economic player in Southeast Asia, but it has lagged behind Indonesia and Singapore when it comes to the tech industry. Thailand has an “incredible opportunity to build a digital-first, AI-powered future,” Microsoft chairman and chief executive officer Satya Nadella said at an event in Bangkok. Data center regions are physical locations that store computing infrastructure, allowing secure and reliable access to cloud platforms. The global embrace of AI