AUSTRALIA
Mining boosted economy
The nation’s mining-powered economy grew 1 percent during the September quarter in a result hailed by the government yesterday as “exceptional” given the ongoing global turmoil. The Bureau of Statistics said mining and construction underpinned the robust performance, which represented year-on-year growth of 2.5 percent and followed upwardly revised growth of 1.4 percent for the three months to June. Economists had expected GDP to rise 0.8 to 1 percent quarter-on-quarter and 1.9 to 2.1 percent from a year earlier.
BANKING
UK mulls foreign disclosures
The UK is weighing plans to make overseas banks, including Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan, disclose the earnings of their top executives, extending an accord already reached with British banks. Firms with more than ￡50 billion (US$77 billion) of assets would have to disclose the compensation of their eight highest-paid non-board level executives, even if their headquarters are overseas, the Treasury said in a consultation paper on Tuesday. The plan would affect the 15 largest banks operating in the UK, the government said. Domestic lenders, including RBS and Barclays, already publish it under a February agreement with the Treasury.
ENERGY
Japan firms to buy LNG
Japanese firms have taken their biggest step into Australia’s growing liquefied natural gas (LNG) sector, with five major power companies signing a A$70 billion (US$71.8 billion) sales deal. The Japanese utilities on Tuesday committed to buying 4 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of LNG from Australia’s proposed Ichthys Project for 15 years, ahead of a final investment decision on the project, owner Inpex said. Inpex said the total volume of 8.4 MTPA of LNG from the project was now accounted for, “with approximately 70 percent of the Ichthys LNG to be delivered to Japan.”
JAPAN
Forex reserves hit US$1.3tn
Tokyo said yesterday its foreign exchange reserves hit a record high US$1.3 trillion last month after authorities intervened in currency markets to stem the yen’s rise. The level was US$94.88 billion higher than in October, the finance ministry said, and surpassed a previous record of US$1.22 trillion set in August. The reserves are composed mainly of foreign-currency denominated securities and bank deposits along with gold and other assets, according to ministry data. The latest data did not break down foreign exchange assets by currency, but Japan has bought 2.975 billion euros (US$4 billion) worth of debt issued by the eurozone bailout fund, the European Financial Stability Facility, so far this year.
EMPLOYMENT
US workers prefer cash: poll
Companies planning to spend thousands of dollars on staff Christmas parties, even with open bars, shouldn’t bother because most US employees would prefer money. Nearly three quarters of 2,574 workers questioned in a Harris poll said they would opt for a cash bonus, followed by 62 percent who would prefer a salary increase and 32 percent who wanted more paid time off. Only 4 percent put a Christmas party on the top of their list. “Until we see the impacts of the Great Recession further recede, when it comes to what employees want it starts with cash and other financial perks to make sure that ends can be met over the holidays,” said Rusty Rueff, of Glassdoor, the jobs listing firm that commissioned the poll.
HORMUZ ISSUE: The US president said he expected crude prices to drop at the end of the war, which he called a ‘minor excursion’ that could continue ‘for a little while’ The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Kuwait started reducing oil production, as the near-closure of the crucial Strait of Hormuz ripples through energy markets and affects global supply. Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) is “managing offshore production levels to address storage requirements,” the company said in a statement, without giving details. Kuwait Petroleum Corp said it was lowering production at its oil fields and refineries after “Iranian threats against safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz.” The war in the Middle East has all but closed Hormuz, the narrow waterway linking the Persian Gulf to the open seas,
Taiwan has enough crude oil reserves for more than 100 days and sufficient natural gas reserves for more than 11 days, both above the regulatory safety requirement, Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said yesterday, adding that the government would prioritize domestic price stability as conflicts in the Middle East continue. Overall, energy supply for this month is secure, and the government is continuing efforts to ensure sufficient supply for next month, Kung told reporters after meeting with representatives from business groups at the ministry in Taipei. The ministry has been holding daily cross-ministry meetings at the Executive Yuan to ensure
RATIONING: The proposal would give the Trump administration ample leverage to negotiate investments in the US as it decides how many chips to give each country US officials are debating a new regulatory framework for exporting artificial intelligence (AI) chips and are considering requiring foreign nations to invest in US AI data centers or security guarantees as a condition for granting exports of 200,000 chips or more, according to a document seen by Reuters. The rules are not yet final and could change. They would be the first attempt to regulate the flow of AI chips to US allies and partners since US President Donald Trump’s administration said it rescinded its predecessor’s so-called AI diffusion rules. Those rules sought to keep a significant amount of AI
A new worry has been rippling across the stock market lately: Entire businesses, not just their employees, might be thrown out of work. While most economists say fears of an artificial intelligence (AI) job apocalypse are overblown, seismic shifts have happened in the past after big tech breakthroughs. The IT revolution of the 1990s led to a surge in productivity that sped up the US economy for several years. It also rendered companies or even industries largely redundant — from travel agents and stockbrokers to classified advertising and newspapers, or video rental stores. Economists expect AI would deliver higher productivity,
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