FINANCE
Private sector mulls Greece
Changing the terms of voluntary private sector participation in the bailout for Greece agreed to in July could cost the support of private investors, Deutsche Bank chief executive officer Josef Ackermann said in an interview published on Saturday. “If we reopen the voluntary accord of July 21, we will not only lose precious time, but quite possibly also private investor support,” Ackermann told the Greek newspaper Kathimerini. “The impact of such a move would be incalculable. This is why I am warning in the most forceful way against any material revision.” Ackermann is also head of the International Institute of Finance, which has been leading bond swap talks on behalf of banks. Holders of Greek bonds agreed to accept a 21 percent “haircut” on the value of their debt on July 21 as part of an EU-IMF bailout.
AUTOMOBILES
Renault-Nissan eyes Brazil
French-Japanese alliance -Renault-Nissan plans to double its share of the Brazilian auto market by 2016, group president Carlos Ghosn said on Saturday. In order to meet his goals, Ghosn will announce two major investments on Wednesday and Thursday for the two brands in Brazil, but he declined to provide those figures in advance. Brazilian Science and Technology Minister Aloizio Mercadante said the funding would help expand the Renault-Nissan plant in southern Parana State and create a new one in Rezende City, in Rio de Janeiro State. Announcements on manufacturing electric cars were also expected. “We have set a goal to double our market share by 2016, to exceed 13 percent. Renault aims to exceed 8 percent, and Nissan 5 percent,” Ghosn said after talks with Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff.
BANKING
Citigroup looks to sell EMI
Citigroup Inc could sell EMI Music Publishing Ltd after seeking final offers by Wednesday, the Sunday Times reported, without saying where it got the information. The most likely buyer is Warner Music Group Corp, according to the newspaper. Citigroup must raise ￡3 billion (US$4.7 billion) to break even on EMI, the label of artists including Coldplay and Kate Perry, according to the report. Citigroup seized EMI from Guy Hands’s Terra Firma Capital Partners Ltd in February after the firm was declared insolvent.
UNITED STATES
Job market to stay weak
Gains in payrolls last month were probably too small to reduce joblessness and manufacturing almost stalled as concern mounted that the global recovery was losing momentum, economists said before reports last week. Employment climbed by 50,000 workers after no change in August, according to the median forecast of 67 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News before Labor Department data scheduled to be released on Friday. Factories grew at the slowest pace since July 2009, a survey of purchasing managers could show today. The European debt crisis, political haggling in the US and a plunge in stock prices have led to a drop in consumer and business confidence that could continue to hurt spending and hiring. The risk that the world’s largest economy could fall back into a recession has prompted the Federal Reserve and President Barack Obama to announce further measures to spur the expansion. Private payrolls, which exclude government jobs, rose 90,000 after a gain of 17,000 in the previous month, economists forecast the employment report would also show.
TAKING STOCK: A Taiwanese cookware firm in Vietnam urged customers to assess inventory or place orders early so shipments can reach the US while tariffs are paused Taiwanese businesses in Vietnam are exploring alternatives after the White House imposed a 46 percent import duty on Vietnamese goods, following US President Donald Trump’s announcement of “reciprocal” tariffs on the US’ trading partners. Lo Shih-liang (羅世良), chairman of Brico Industry Co (裕茂工業), a Taiwanese company that manufactures cast iron cookware and stove components in Vietnam, said that more than 40 percent of his business was tied to the US market, describing the constant US policy shifts as an emotional roller coaster. “I work during the day and stay up all night watching the news. I’ve been following US news until 3am
Six years ago, LVMH’s billionaire CEO Bernard Arnault and US President Donald Trump cut the blue ribbon on a factory in rural Texas that would make designer handbags for Louis Vuitton, one of the world’s best-known luxury brands. However, since the high-profile opening, the factory has faced a host of problems limiting production, 11 former Louis Vuitton employees said. The site has consistently ranked among the worst-performing for Louis Vuitton globally, “significantly” underperforming other facilities, said three former Louis Vuitton workers and a senior industry source, who cited internal rankings shared with staff. The plant’s problems — which have not
UNCERTAINTY: Innolux activated a stringent supply chain management mechanism, as it did during the COVID-19 pandemic, to ensure optimal inventory levels for customers Flat-panel display makers AUO Corp (友達) and Innolux Corp (群創) yesterday said that about 12 to 20 percent of their display business is at risk of potential US tariffs and that they would relocate production or shipment destinations to mitigate the levies’ effects. US tariffs would have a direct impact of US$200 million on AUO’s revenue, company chairman Paul Peng (彭雙浪) told reporters on the sidelines of the Touch Taiwan trade show in Taipei yesterday. That would make up about 12 percent of the company’s overall revenue. To cope with the tariff uncertainty, AUO plans to allocate its production to manufacturing facilities in
TARIFF CONCERNS: The chipmaker cited global uncertainty from US tariffs and a weakening economic outlook, but said its Singapore expansion remains on track Vanguard International Semiconductor Corp (世界先進), a foundry service provider specializing in producing power management and display driver chips, yesterday withdrew its full-year revenue projection of moderate growth for this year, as escalating US tariff tensions raised uncertainty and concern about a potential economic recession. The Hsinchu-based chipmaker in February said revenues this year would grow mildly from last year based on improving supply chain inventory levels and market demand. At the time, it also anticipated gradual quarter revenue growth. However, the US’ sweeping tariff policy has upended the industry’s supply chains and weakened economic prospects for the world economy, it said. “Now
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