The US dollar fell against most of its major counterparts as risk appetite increased amid continued speculation that central banks might take further steps to boost economic growth.
The euro rose versus the greenback for a second week, the longest stretch since June, as members of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition signaled they would not block European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi’s plan to buy government bonds. Stocks rallied as US employers added more jobs than forecast even as the unemployment rate rose to a five-month high. US Federal Reserve President Ben Bernanke could discuss policy options in an Aug. 31 speech in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
The dollar fell 0.5 percent to US$1.2387 per euro this week in New York, after losing 1.3 percent in the five days that ended on July 27. The yen depreciated 0.5 percent to ￥97.19 per euro in its second weekly loss. The Japanese currency was little changed at ￥78.47 to the dollar.
The Dollar Index, which Intercontinental Exchange Inc uses to track the greenback against the currencies of six major US trade partners including the euro and the yen, fell 0.4 percent to 82.375. It dropped as much as 1.3 percent on Friday, the biggest intraday decrease since June 29.
The greenback lost 0.7 percent this week versus nine developed-nation counterparts tracked by the Bloomberg Correlation-Weighted Indexes. The euro was little changed, while Sweden’s krona was the best performer, rising 2 percent.
Sterling was the worst performer, declining 0.7 percent to US$1.5640.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rallied as much as 2 percent on Friday, rising for the first time in five days and erasing a weekly loss.
The greenback fell against most major peers yesterday as stocks climbed after US Department of Labor figures showed US payrolls added 163,000 jobs last month. That followed a revised 64,000 increase the previous month that was less than initially reported. The median estimate of 89 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News called for a gain of 100,000. The unemployment rate rose to 8.3 percent, from 8.2 percent.
While Fed policymakers refrained at a meeting that ended on Wednesday from taking further steps to stimulate the world’s largest economy, they said in a statement they would provide additional accommodation as needed amid a slowing economy..
Bernanke is scheduled to speak at the Fed Bank of Kansas City’s conference in Jackson Hole at the end of the month. His speech at the event in 2010 set the stage for a second round of asset purchases.
STILL HOPEFUL: Delayed payment of NT$5.35 billion from an Indian server client sent its earnings plunging last year, but the firm expects a gradual pickup ahead Asustek Computer Inc (華碩), the world’s No. 5 PC vendor, yesterday reported an 87 percent slump in net profit for last year, dragged by a massive overdue payment from an Indian cloud service provider. The Indian customer has delayed payment totaling NT$5.35 billion (US$162.7 million), Asustek chief financial officer Nick Wu (吳長榮) told an online earnings conference. Asustek shipped servers to India between April and June last year. The customer told Asustek that it is launching multiple fundraising projects and expected to repay the debt in the short term, Wu said. The Indian customer accounted for less than 10 percent to Asustek’s
‘DECENT RESULTS’: The company said it is confident thanks to an improving world economy and uptakes in new wireless and AI technologies, despite US uncertainty Pegatron Corp (和碩) yesterday said it plans to build a new server manufacturing factory in the US this year to address US President Donald Trump’s new tariff policy. That would be the second server production base for Pegatron in addition to the existing facilities in Taoyuan, the iPhone assembler said. Servers are one of the new businesses Pegatron has explored in recent years to develop a more balanced product lineup. “We aim to provide our services from a location in the vicinity of our customers,” Pegatron president and chief executive officer Gary Cheng (鄭光治) told an online earnings conference yesterday. “We
LEAK SOURCE? There would be concern over the possibility of tech leaks if TSMC were to form a joint venture to operate Intel’s factories, an analyst said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday stayed mum after a report said that the chipmaker has pitched chip designers Nvidia Corp, Advanced Micro Devices Inc and Broadcom Inc about taking a stake in a joint venture to operate Intel Corp’s factories. Industry sources told the Central News Agency (CNA) that the possibility of TSMC proposing to operate Intel’s wafer fabs is low, as the Taiwanese chipmaker has always focused on its core business. There is also concern over possible technology leaks if TSMC were to form a joint venture to operate Intel’s factories, Concord Securities Co (康和證券) analyst Kerry Huang (黃志祺)
It was late morning and steam was rising from water tanks atop the colorful, but opaque-windowed, “soapland” sex parlors in a historic Tokyo red-light district. Walking through the narrow streets, camera in hand, was Beniko — a former sex worker who is trying to capture the spirit of the area once known as Yoshiwara through photography. “People often talk about this neighborhood having a ‘bad history,’” said Beniko, who goes by her nickname. “But the truth is that through the years people have lived here, made a life here, sometimes struggled to survive. I want to share that reality.” In its mid-17th to
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