AUTOMAKERS
Toyota issues global recall
Toyota Motor Corp is recalling about 550,000 vehicles worldwide — mostly in the US — for possible problems related to the crankshaft pulley on the engine that could make it harder to steer. The company’s US sales unit said in a statement yesterday that if the problem is not corrected the belt for the power steering pump could become detached from the pulley. The recall affects 283,200 Toyota brand cars and 137,000 Lexus vehicles in the US, including the 2004 and 2005 Camry, Highlander and Sienna models. Toyota spokesperson Dion Corbett said about 38,000 cars are being recalled in Japan, as well as 25,000 in Australia and New Zealand. There have been no reports of accidents or injuries related to the problems, Corbett said.
HOUSING
Fannie Mae posts Q3 loss
US mortgage giant Fannie Mae lost nearly US$5.1 billion in the third quarter, a 76 percent rise from the previous quarter and nearly four times the same period one year earlier, the company reported on Tuesday. The state-owned housing lender said it would ask the US Treasury for another injection of US$7.8 billion to cover both the losses and the amount of dividends it is obliged to pay the government for its rescue in 2008. Fannie blamed the quarterly results equally on US$4.5 billion in losses on pre--housing crisis lending and US$5.5 billion worth of losses on derivatives taken out during the quarter against the risk of higher interest rates. Against that, Fannie said it had earned US$5.5 billion in net revenue.
BEER
AB InBev misses Q3 target
Anheuser-Busch InBev NV (AB InBev), the world’s biggest brewer, reported third-quarter revenue that missed analysts’ estimates as it sold less beer in the US and central and eastern Europe, offsetting gains in Latin America. So-called organic sales rose 3.6 percent, the Belgium-based company said yesterday in a statement. The median estimate of eight analysts surveyed by Bloomberg was 4.1 percent. The volume of its own brands of beer sold fell 0.6 percent. The brewer of Stella Artois has raised prices in the US and shifted toward more expensive products as sales slow. Market share fell 25 basis points in the quarter as the company lost sales in so-called sub-premium brands.
RETAIL
Electronics sales to increase
Sales of electronics are set to light up an otherwise dreary US holiday shopping season, the US Consumer Electronics Association said. The trade group released figures on Tuesday predicting an increase in holiday electronics sales of 5.6 percent this year, with the average household spending US$246 on gadgets, roughly a third of its gift budget of US$769. Tablets and computers ranked second and third on the list of gifts most sought after by adults, with clothes taking the top slot. Peace, happiness, and money followed behind all three, the association said.
FRANCE
Zero growth forecast in Q4
The economy is set for zero growth in the last quarter of the year, the Bank of France warned yesterday, two days after the government announced a new round of austerity measures. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Budget, Public Accounts and Civil Administration said that the central government budget deficit, a component of the overall deficit, had fallen by 30 billion euros (US$41.5 billion) at the end of September on a 12-month basis, to 92.7 billion euros, as the result of big fall in spending and a slight rise in revenues.
Intel Corp chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武) is expected to meet with Taiwanese suppliers next month in conjunction with the opening of the Computex Taipei trade show, supply chain sources said on Monday. The visit, the first for Tan to Taiwan since assuming his new post last month, would be aimed at enhancing Intel’s ties with suppliers in Taiwan as he attempts to help turn around the struggling US chipmaker, the sources said. Tan is to hold a banquet to celebrate Intel’s 40-year presence in Taiwan before Computex opens on May 20 and invite dozens of Taiwanese suppliers to exchange views
Application-specific integrated circuit designer Faraday Technology Corp (智原) yesterday said that although revenue this quarter would decline 30 percent from last quarter, it retained its full-year forecast of revenue growth of 100 percent. The company attributed the quarterly drop to a slowdown in customers’ production of chips using Faraday’s advanced packaging technology. The company is still confident about its revenue growth this year, given its strong “design-win” — or the projects it won to help customers design their chips, Faraday president Steve Wang (王國雍) told an online earnings conference. “The design-win this year is better than we expected. We believe we will win
Chizuko Kimura has become the first female sushi chef in the world to win a Michelin star, fulfilling a promise she made to her dying husband to continue his legacy. The 54-year-old Japanese chef regained the Michelin star her late husband, Shunei Kimura, won three years ago for their Sushi Shunei restaurant in Paris. For Shunei Kimura, the star was a dream come true. However, the joy was short-lived. He died from cancer just three months later in June 2022. He was 65. The following year, the restaurant in the heart of Montmartre lost its star rating. Chizuko Kimura insisted that the new star is still down
While China’s leaders use their economic and political might to fight US President Donald Trump’s trade war “to the end,” its army of social media soldiers are embarking on a more humorous campaign online. Trump’s tariff blitz has seen Washington and Beijing impose eye-watering duties on imports from the other, fanning a standoff between the economic superpowers that has sparked global recession fears and sent markets into a tailspin. Trump says his policy is a response to years of being “ripped off” by other countries and aims to bring manufacturing to the US, forcing companies to employ US workers. However, China’s online warriors
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