UK export growth helped the economy extend its recovery in the third quarter as growth in consumer, government and investment spending slowed by more than half.
GDP rose 0.8 percent from the previous three months, when it increased 1.2 percent, the Office for National Statistics said yesterday in London. That matched an initial estimate on Aug. 26 and the median forecast of 30 economists in a Bloomberg News survey. Exports rose 2.2 percent after a 2.3 percent increase in the previous three months.
Momentum in the economy may wane as the government implements the biggest budget squeeze since World War II and strains in Ireland, the UK’s fifth-biggest export market, and the eurozone deepen. The outlook has divided Bank of England policymakers as they debate whether to expand bond purchases or raise the key interest rate to tame inflation.
“The economy has to get past the fiscal tightening next year and there’s a high degree of uncertainty on how 2011 will unfold,” said Philip Shaw, chief economist at Investec Securities in London. “The news on exports is encouraging, but we’ve had false dawns before.”
Consumer-spending growth slowed to 0.3 percent in the third quarter from 0.7 percent in the previous three months, the statistics office said. Government spending rose 0.4 percent, down from 1 percent, and investment growth eased to 0.6 percent from 1.4 percent. Imports rose 0.7 percent and net trade contributed 0.4 percentage points to GDP. Inventories added 0.1 percentage points.
A separate report showed business investment fell 0.2 percent in the third quarter from the previous three months. It was up 4.6 percent from a year earlier. An index of services in September rose 0.6 percent from the previous month.
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said on Nov. 18 that UK growth would “remain subdued” next year as the spending cuts bite. The government’s plans to reduce the deficit to 2 percent of economic output by 2015 from more than 10 percent today involve 490,000 public-sector job losses and sweeping welfare cuts.
Nevertheless, the economy will gain momentum in 2012 as the global recovery drives exports and higher business confidence spurs corporate investment, the OECD said. The Paris-based group said the central bank should start raising the key rate from a record low of 0.5 percent in the second half of next year.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday said its materials management head, Vanessa Lee (李文如), had tendered her resignation for personal reasons. The personnel adjustment takes effect tomorrow, TSMC said in a statement. The latest development came one month after Lee reportedly took leave from the middle of last month. Cliff Hou (侯永清), senior vice president and deputy cochief operating officer, is to concurrently take on the role of head of the materials management division, which has been under his supervision, TSMC said. Lee, who joined TSMC in 2022, was appointed senior director of materials management and
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Thursday met with US President Donald Trump at the White House, days before a planned trip to China by the head of the world’s most valuable chipmaker, people familiar with the matter said. Details of what the two men discussed were not immediately available, and the people familiar with the meeting declined to elaborate on the agenda. Spokespeople for the White House had no immediate comment. Nvidia declined to comment. Nvidia’s CEO has been vocal about the need for US companies to access the world’s largest semiconductor market and is a frequent visitor to China.
Hypermarket chain Carrefour Taiwan and upscale supermarket chain Mia C’bon on Saturday announced the suspension of their partnership with Jkopay Co (街口支付), one of Taiwan’s largest digital payment providers, amid a lawsuit involving its parent company. Carrefour and Mia C’bon said they would notify customers once Jkopay services are reinstated. The two retailers joined an array of other firms in suspending their partnerships with Jkopay. On Friday night, popular beverage chain TP Tea (茶湯會) also suspended its use of the platform, urging customers to opt for alternative payment methods. Another drinks brand, Guiji (龜記), on Friday said that it is up to individual
STABLE RESULTS: Despite June’s lower consolidated revenue, second-quarter sales still reached a record high, driven by demand for chips for AI applications Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday reported consolidated sales of NT$263.71 billion (US$9.02 billion) for last month, its second-lowest monthly result this year. The world’s largest contract chipmaker said in a statement that its revenue last month only fared better than the NT$260.01 billion posted in February. Last month’s figure rose 26.9 percent from a year earlier, but slumped 17.7 percent from May, the company said. However, second-quarter revenue reached NT$933.8 billion, a record high for a single quarter, company data showed. The figure represented growth of 11.26 percent from the first quarter and 38.6 percent from a year earlier. Previously, TSMC said that
RSS