JAPAN
Manufacturers less bearish
Big manufacturers have more confidence in the nation’s economy, but remain pessimistic overall, the closely watched quarterly tankan survey by the central bank showed yesterday. The tankan confidence index was minus 1, meaning big manufacturers are gloomy, but are less so than in March, when the survey produced a minus 4 result. The survey for the three months through last month showed its first improvement in three quarters and was better than expected. The Bank of Japan, which had forecast minus 3 for the quarter, said it surveyed 10,792 companies nationwide and about 99 percent responded.
INDONESIA
Inflation rises to 4.53%
The government yesterday said inflation rose to 4.53 percent last month, spurred by higher basic food prices, including red chilis, a main ingredient in local dishes. The consumer price index (CPI) came in at 4.53 percent last month, up from 4.45 percent in May, the Central Statistics Agency said. Last month’s CPI increased 0.62 percent on-month compared with a 0.07 percent rise in May. Core inflation, which excludes volatile food prices, was 4.15 percent last month, from 4.14 percent in May. The central bank has left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at a record low of 5.75 percent since February.
SOUTH KOREA
CPI rose 2.2% last month
Inflation eased last month amid continuing government efforts to curb price rises, figures showed yesterday. The consumer price index (CPI) rose 2.2 percent last month from a year earlier, compared with a 2.5 percent gain in May, Statistics Korea said. It marked the sixth straight month that the figure had remained comfortably within the central bank’s inflation target band of 2 to 4 percent for this year. Month-on-month, the CPI was down 0.1 percent, following a 0.2 percent gain in May. Core inflation, which excludes volatile oil and food costs, stood at 1.5 percent last month from a year earlier, compared with 1.6 percent in May.
SHIPPING
Sanko files for bankruptcy
Sanko Steamship Co, the Japanese operator of 185 ships, filed for bankruptcy protection in Tokyo after failing to reach an agreement with creditors on an out-of-court turnaround. The company had liabilities of ￥155.8 billion (US$2 billion), according to Teikoku Databank Ltd, a Tokyo-based corporate research company. The Tokyo District Court granted permission for closely held Sanko to continue operations under supervision and it will appoint a trustee to oversee a reorganization, the Tokyo-based company said in a statement yesterday. The company suffered from a drop in demand after the 2008 collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc and it failed to act quickly enough to cut expensive charters as shipping rates fell, it said.
FRANCE
Growth forecast trimmed
The nation will post a smaller growth this year and next year than earlier projected, Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici said in an interview published on Sunday. Growth is now expected to reach just 0.4 percent or less this year rather than 0.5 percent, while for next year, “an expansion within 1 to 1.3 percent ... appears more credible” than the earlier forecast of 1.7 percent, he said in an interview published on the Figaro newspaper’s Web site. Last week, the INSEE national statistics institute cut its growth forecast to 0.4 percent this year.
NOT JUSTIFIED: The bank’s governor said there would only be a rate cut if inflation falls below 1.5% and economic conditions deteriorate, which have not been detected The central bank yesterday kept its key interest rates unchanged for a fifth consecutive quarter, aligning with market expectations, while slightly lowering its inflation outlook amid signs of cooling price pressures. The move came after the US Federal Reserve held rates steady overnight, despite pressure from US President Donald Trump to cut borrowing costs. Central bank board members unanimously voted to maintain the discount rate at 2 percent, the secured loan rate at 2.375 percent and the overnight lending rate at 4.25 percent. “We consider the policy decision appropriate, although it suggests tightening leaning after factoring in slackening inflation and stable GDP growth,”
DIVIDED VIEWS: Although the Fed agreed on holding rates steady, some officials see no rate cuts for this year, while 10 policymakers foresee two or more cuts There are a lot of unknowns about the outlook for the economy and interest rates, but US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled at least one thing seems certain: Higher prices are coming. Fed policymakers voted unanimously to hold interest rates steady at a range of 4.25 percent to 4.50 percent for a fourth straight meeting on Wednesday, as they await clarity on whether tariffs would leave a one-time or more lasting mark on inflation. Powell said it is still unclear how much of the bill would fall on the shoulders of consumers, but he expects to learn more about tariffs
Greek tourism student Katerina quit within a month of starting work at a five-star hotel in Halkidiki, one of the country’s top destinations, because she said conditions were so dire. Beyond the bad pay, the 22-year-old said that her working and living conditions were “miserable and unacceptable.” Millions holiday in Greece every year, but its vital tourism industry is finding it harder and harder to recruit Greeks to look after them. “I was asked to work in any department of the hotel where there was a need, from service to cleaning,” said Katerina, a tourism and marketing student, who would
i Gasoline and diesel prices at fuel stations are this week to rise NT$0.1 per liter, as tensions in the Middle East pushed crude oil prices higher last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. International crude oil prices last week rose for the third consecutive week due to an escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, as the market is concerned that the situation in the Middle East might affect crude oil supply, CPC and Formosa said in separate statements. Front-month Brent crude oil futures — the international oil benchmark — rose 3.75 percent to settle at US$77.01
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