RUSSIA
Growth beats expectations
Russia’s economy expanded 2.3 percent last year, growing more quickly than the government and the IMF had predicted, according to state statistics published on Monday. Russia’s growth rate accelerated from 1.6 percent in 2017 and exceeded the economy ministry’s prediction of 1.8 percent as well as the IMF’s forecast of 1.7 percent. The country’s economy only returned to growth in 2017 after two years of recession in 2015 and 2016. Russia’s Rosstat statistics agency said that GDP last year was 103.6 trillion rubles (US$1.578 trillion, 1.38 trillion euros), with growth in sectors such as hotels and restaurants boosted by hosting the World Cup.
UNITED KINGDOM
Consumer spending recovers
Consumer spending recovered slightly last month after a dismal holiday season, though British households are still wary because of Brexit. KPMG said that retail sales grew 2.2 percent last month, up from the slowest growth in a decade in December last year. Figures from Barclaycard also showed consumer spending grew 2.9 percent after a previous decline. It had dipped in December as shoppers brought forward gift purchases to November to take advantage of heavy discounts. Price cuts were a driving force behind the uptick last month, KPMG said, but overhanging the outlook is Britain’s divorce from the EU.
FINLAND
Prepare for trouble: ministry
Trade-reliant Finland is unprepared to weather a coming global economic downturn and its next government stepping into office later this year should boost buffers while it still can, the Finance Ministry warned. At least 2 billion euros (US$2.3 billion) of budget cuts will be needed to generate a surplus of about 0.5 percent for public finances over the next four years, civil servants at the ministry said in a report published on Monday. Actions are needed to quickly fill up government coffers and improve fiscal strength, especially as a recession could again hit the Nordic country over the next four years, they said.
VENEZUELA
JPMorgan reviews indices
Venezuelan government debt may be entirely removed from JPMorgan Chase & Co’s flagship emerging-market bond indices after US sanctions effectively wiped out trading in the securities, according to two people familiar with the matter. The bank’s index team, which previously said it was reviewing the status of bonds from Petroleos de Venezuela SA in its gauges, is now also considering whether to drop the sovereign notes from its EMBI+, EMBI Global and EMBI Global Diversified benchmarks because of low liquidity, the people said.
ENERGY
Rising oil boosts BP profit
BP PLC almost trebled its annual net profit to US$9.4 billion (8.2 billion euros) last year as oil prices soared in 2018, the British energy giant announced yesterday. Profit after tax rocketed from US$3.4 billion in 2017, “primarily affected by higher oil prices and favorable foreign exchange” rate changes, BP said in a statement. Fourth-quarter net profit stood at US$766 million, up from US$27 million in the final three months of 2017. The company said full-year production of oil and gas grew 2.4 percent to 3.7 million barrels per day last year. This year’s output is expected to be higher thanks to major production projects, it said.
GERMANY
Budget shortfall likely: report
Germany’s government is grappling with the prospect of tighter public finances over the coming years as economic growth slows. It is insisting it will stick to its policy of running up no new debt. News agency DPA reported on Monday that the government faces a budget shortfall of 24.7 billion euros (US$28.3 billion) through 2023, compared with previous predictions. The finance ministry would not confirm the figure, but said maintaining a balanced budget remains “the clear proviso” in government planning.
EGPYT
IMF clears US$2bn loan
The IMF board on Monday approved a US$2 billion loan payment to Egypt, the latest in the country’s three-year aid program. The latest installment brings the total paid to Cairo to about US$10 billion since the loan deal was signed in November 2016. The previous loan tranche was approved in July of last year, but this fourth review of Egypt’s program had been awaiting board approval since October, when IMF staff and government officials had finalized it.
BANKING
Deutsche may cut bonuses
Deutsche Bank AG may cut bonuses if its revenue fails to grow, chief financial officer James von Moltke said on Monday. Variable compensation is one of several areas the lender has earmarked for further possible savings if necessary to achieve its profitability target, Von Moltke said on a conference call with fixed-income investors. The reductions could be made if a challenging market environment makes it impossible for the bank to grow its top line, he indicated. The company has seen eight consecutive quarters of falling revenue.
TECHNOLOGY
Tesla buying Maxwell
Tesla Inc is buying the battery company Maxwell Technologies Inc for about US$218 million in stock. The deal gives Tesla a boost in battery technology as it tries to cut costs and mass-produce electric cars. Those improvements involve improving battery capacity and cutting down on recharging time. David Lyle, the chief financial officer at Maxwell, told analysts last month that because of recent technological developments, the San Diego company expected to form new partnerships within six months.
MINING
First Quantum eyes Zambia
First Quantum Minerals Ltd has offered to buy the Zambian government’s 20 percent stake in Africa’s biggest copper mine for as much as US$700 million, according to two people familiar with the transaction. Vancouver-based First Quantum already owns 80 percent of the Kansanshi mine in Zambia’s North-Western Province. State-owned ZCCM Investments Holdings PLC holds the rest. The proposal includes US$300 million to US$400 million in cash, and an equal amount in special royalties, over more than 10 years, the people said.
DAIRY
Clover receives buyout bid
Clover Industries Ltd received a buyout offer from a group of investors led by Israel’s Central Bottling Co, which has plans to expand the dairy business across sub-Saharan Africa and values the company at 4.8 billion rand (US$359 million). The group offered 25 rand a share for the Johannesburg-based producer, compared with a Friday closing price of 20 rand, Clover said in a statement on Monday. The potential acquirer is 60 percent owned by CBC, with other investors including Brimstone Investment Corp, a South African investment firm.
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