GERMANY
Output falls most since 2009
Industrial output suffered its biggest fall in December last year since the recession-hit year of 2009, a shock drop highlighting the weakness in manufacturing that risks dragging Europe’s largest economy into contraction again. Industrial production tumbled by 3.5 percent monthly, undershooting expectations for a 0.2 percent fall, Statistics Office data showed. That was the biggest drop since January 2009 and came after an upwardly revised 1.2 percent increase in November. The country’s export-dependent manufacturers are struggling with sluggish demand from abroad, as well as business uncertainty linked to trade disputes and Britain’s decision to leave the EU. The services sector is in better shape. The the Munich-based Ifo Institute for Economic Research on Thursday said that the 2019 novel coronavirus could also cost the country growth. The output figures came a day after the release of data showing industrial orders unexpectedly plunged in December on weaker demand from other eurozone countries, suggesting that there is no let-up in sight for the manufacturing sector.
SELF-DRIVING CARS
US grants Nuro approval
In a first-of-its-kind approval by regulators, a federal agency on Thursday gave permission for autonomous vehicle start-up Nuro Inc over the next two years to deploy up to 5,000 low-speed electric delivery vehicles without human controls such as mirrors and steering wheels. The rollout of the R2 vehicle would take place in Houston, Texas, with plans for it to deliver items such as pizza and groceries. It is about half the width of a regular car, has no steering wheel or seating positions and boasts gull-wing cargo doors reminiscent of the time-traveling car in the Back to the Future films. Nuro, a privately held robotics company based in Mountain View, California, called the regulatory approval by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration “a milestone for the industry.”
CASINOS
Melco drops Crown buy-in
Melco Resorts & Entertainment Ltd has pulled the plug on a stake purchase in Australia’s Crown Resorts Ltd citing plunging traveler numbers and casino closures brought about by the 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak. The US-listed casino operator dropped the second tranche of a 19.99 percent buy-in of Crown from billionaire James Packer, which was earlier valued at A$1.76 billion (US$1.18 billion). The deal has been far from plain sailing with concerns raised by regulators from the outset over links with Stanley Ho (何鴻燊), Lawrence Ho’s (何猷龍) father, who was previously under investigation by authorities in Australia and the US.
AUSTRALIA
Central bank skirts rate cut
Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Philip Lowe signaled that his board is firmly on hold, saying that further cuts to the nation’s historically low interest rate risk doing more long-term damage to the economy than the short-term benefit they would create. “While it’s plausible that we can move toward our goals, at least right at the moment the risks have slightly tilted to outweigh the benefits,” Lowe told a parliamentary panel in Canberra yesterday. He warned of “significant areas of uncertainty,” including the viral outbreak in China, the nation’s largest trading partner. The bank kept the cash rate unchanged at a record low 0.75 percent as the labor market holds up and amid resurgent property prices.
BUSINESS UPDATE: The iPhone assembler said operations outlook is expected to show quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year growth for the second quarter Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday reported strong growth in sales last month, potentially raising expectations for iPhone sales while artificial intelligence (AI)-related business booms. The company, which assembles the majority of Apple Inc’s smartphones, reported a 19.03 percent rise in monthly sales to NT$510.9 billion (US$15.78 billion), from NT$429.22 billion in the same period last year. On a monthly basis, sales rose 14.16 percent, it said. The company in a statement said that last month’s revenue was a record-breaking April performance. Hon Hai, known also as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), assembles most iPhones, but the company is diversifying its business to
Apple Inc has been developing a homegrown chip to run artificial intelligence (AI) tools in data centers, although it is unclear if the semiconductor would ever be deployed, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. The effort would build on Apple’s previous efforts to make in-house chips, which run in its iPhones, Macs and other devices, according to the Journal, which cited unidentified people familiar with the matter. The server project is code-named ACDC (Apple Chips in Data Center) within the company, aiming to utilize Apple’s expertise in chip design for the company’s server infrastructure, the newspaper said. While this initiative has been
GlobalWafers Co (環球晶圓), the world’s No. 3 silicon wafer supplier, yesterday said that revenue would rise moderately in the second half of this year, driven primarily by robust demand for advanced wafers used in high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, a key component of artificial intelligence (AI) technology. “The first quarter is the lowest point of this cycle. The second half will be better than the first for the whole semiconductor industry and for GlobalWafers,” chairwoman Doris Hsu (徐秀蘭) said during an online investors’ conference. “HBM would definitely be the key growth driver in the second half,” Hsu said. “That is our big hope
The consumer price index (CPI) last month eased to 1.95 percent, below the central bank’s 2 percent target, as food and entertainment cost increases decelerated, helped by stable egg prices, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday. The slowdown bucked predictions by policymakers and academics that inflationary pressures would build up following double-digit electricity rate hikes on April 1. “The latest CPI data came after the cost of eating out and rent grew moderately amid mixed international raw material prices,” DGBAS official Tsao Chih-hung (曹志弘) told a news conference in Taipei. The central bank in March raised interest rates by