AUSTRALIA
Spending drop stalls growth
Economic growth stalled in the third-quarter of the year with consumer spending running out of steam as house prices fell further, official data showed yesterday. The economy grew a meager 0.3 percent between July and September, the slowest rate in two years and far below market expectations. The Australian dollar — buoyed by 27-years of straight growth — slid against the US dollar on the news. JP Morgan economist Tom Kennedy said the data came with “ominous” signs from consumers. “The consumer has outperformed relative to fundamentals for the past almost two years,” he said. “Now a combination of weak wages, slowing housing, limited wealth effect and high debt are really starting to culminate in a pretty ominous backdrop for household spending.”
AUSTRALIA
Encryption bill likely to pass
Police and intelligence agencies look set to be given the power to access encrypted messages on platforms such as WhatsApp, as the nation becomes the latest to face down privacy concerns in the name of public safety. Amid protests from companies such as Facebook Inc and Google, the government and main opposition on Tuesday struck a deal that should see the legislation passed this week. Under the proposed powers, technology companies could be forced to help decrypt communications on popular messaging apps, or even build new functionality to help police access data. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said the legislation is needed to help foil terrorist attacks and organized crime. Critics say it is flawed and could undermine security across the Internet, jeopardizing activities from online voting to market trading and data storage.
EUROZONE
Growth pace floundering
The euro area is showing no signs of a meaningful economic rebound, with Italy on the verge of recession after the populist government picked a fight with European authorities over spending plans. IHS Markit’s purchasing manager’s index for manufacturing and services in the 19-nation bloc fell last month to 52.7 from 53.1 in October. While the reading exceeded an earlier estimate, it was the worst since September 2016 and suggests only a marginal pickup in the pace of growth to 0.3 percent in the fourth quarter, the report said. “The region remains stuck in a soft-patch,” IHS Markit economist Chris Williamson said. “The survey responses highlighted intensifying headwinds of Brexit and trade-war worries, a struggling autos sector and rising uncertainty regarding the economic and political outlook.” The slowdown is starting to affect the labor market. Employment expanded at its weakest pace in nearly two years last month, with Germany, France and Ireland faring particularly poorly.
SHIPPING
Maersk to go carbon-neutral
Maersk, the world’s biggest container shipper, aims to be carbon neutral by 2050, in a challenge to the rest of the world’s fossil fuel-dependent fleet. The Danish company yesterday said it aims to have carbon-neutral vessels commercially viable by 2030 by using energy sources such as biofuels and would cut its net carbon emissions to zero by 2050. The shipping industry, which carries about 80 percent of global trade, accounts for 2.2 percent of carbon dioxide emissions, the UN’s International Maritime Organization says.
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
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
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
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