GERMANY
June jobless rate flat at 5%
Unemployment held steady last month, official data showed yesterday, after the measure rose off historic lows for the first time in almost six years the previous month. At 5 percent, the jobless rate was the same as in May, when it rose 0.1 percentage points from April, figures from the Federal Employment Agency showed. The measure’s steady level was in line with forecasts from analysts surveyed by Factset. In absolute terms, the number out of work fell by 20,000 people to just more than 2.2 million.
GAMING
Macau revenue rises 5.9%
Macau casino revenue grew for a second straight month in a sign that the world’s largest gaming hub is holding its ground even as a prolonged trade war bites into China’s economic growth. Gross gaming revenue for Macau casino operators was 23.8 billion patacas (US$3 billion) last month, up 5.9 percent from a year earlier, according to data from the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau. That was better than the median analyst estimate of a 1.8 percent increase and follows modest growth in May.
CURRENCY
ECO is new currency name
Leaders of the member states of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on Saturday formally agreed to name a planned common currency the “ECO.” The aim is to have the currency in place by next year, a statement by the 15-member group said, adding that the currency would be based on a flexible exchange rate regime, coupled with a monetary policy framework focused on inflation targeting. The group would work with the West African Monetary Agency, West African Monetary Institute and central banks to facilitate implementation of a revised single-currency road map, to be presented at the next regular meeting, it said.
INVESTMENT
China eases restrictions
The Chinese government has promised to ease restrictions on foreign investment in gas pipelines, call centers and some other businesses in its latest market-opening measures. Sunday’s Cabinet announcement adds to a series of such measures announced amid trade tensions with Washington, though none directly addresses US complaints about Beijing’s technology ambitions and controls on foreign companies. The latest measures also promise more foreign access to some businesses in agriculture and mining.
TRADE
EU, Vietnam sign FTA
The EU on Sunday signed a landmark free-trade agreement (FTA) with Vietnam, the first of its kind with a developing country in Asia, paving the way for tariff reductions on 99 percent of goods between the bloc and the Southeast Asian nation. The two sides announced the deal in a statement. It still needs the approval of the European Parliament, which is not a given as some lawmakers are concerned about Vietnam’s human rights record.
SEMICONDUCTORS
API buying ex-Hitachi unit
Applied Materials Inc (API), the biggest maker of machines used to make semiconductors, is buying Hitachi Kokusai Electric Inc from KKR in a deal worth about ¥250 billion (US$2.3 billion), a person with knowledge of the matter said, asking not to be identified because the details are not public. Investment firm KKR bought the Japanese mobile phone and wireless communication equipment manufacturer, a former unit of Hitachi, in a tender offer in 2017.
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