BANKING
Madrid props up Bankia
Spain has made a 4.5 billion euro (US$5.7 billion) non-cash injection into Bankia, a money-losing, state-rescued lender at the heart of the nation’s financial crisis. Madrid moved urgently to shore up Bankia’s depleted coffers, delivering the capital as an advance payment on a eurozone banking rescue loan of up to 100 billion euros that was agreed in June. The state-backed Fund for Orderly Bank Restructuring acted on Wednesday, Bankia and its parent group Banco Financiero de Ahorros said in statements issued the same day.
TRADE
Bangkok cuts export growth
Thailand’s Ministry of Finance slashed its forecast for export growth this year to 4.5 percent from 12.8 percent as Europe’s debt crisis erodes demand for the nation’s electronics, textiles, rice and rubber. Economic growth may also fall short of the ministry’s 5.7 percent projection, Somchai Sujjapongse, head of the Ministry of Finance’s fiscal policy office, said in Bangkok yesterday.
INTEREST RATES
Manila, NZ retain key rate
The Philippine central bank left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at a record low of 3.75 percent, in line with expectations it will hold fire before it cuts rates at least one more time by the end of the year. New Zealand’s central bank yesterday also held interest rates at a record low 2.5 percent, citing slowing growth in China and ongoing uncertainty in Europe. The official cash rate has been at 2.5 percent since March last year.
SWITZERLAND
SNB cuts GDP forecast
The Swiss National Bank (SNB) yesterday kept its low key rate unchanged and said the current global economic climate was forcing it to cut its economic growth outlook for this year. The Swiss central bank’s target range for the franc’s three-month London interbank offered rate (LIBOR) would remain unchanged at 0 percent to 0.25 percent, a bank spokesman said in a conference call with reporters. The SNB said it now expected the country’s GDP this year to tick in at 1.0 percent, compared with its previous estimate of 1.5 percent.
FOOD
Nestle sees China sales up
Nestle SA, the world’s largest food company, said China sales would probably grow about 20 percent this year because of rising wages and the government’s policy to boost local consumption. The slowing growth of Asia’s biggest economy has not affected the local operations of the Vevey, Switzerland-based company, which has seen expansion in most of its businesses, including dairy products and coffee, Greater China chairman Roland Decorvet said in an interview yesterday. Nestle’s China sales increased by more than 20 percent last year and will grow by a double-digit percentage next year, he said.
GAMING
New Wii out in December
Nintendo Co, the world’s biggest video-game machine maker, will sell its new Wii U console in Japan beginning in December for at least ￥26,250 (US$338) as the company tries to recover from its first annual loss. Nintendo will also sell a premium version for ￥31,500 starting on Dec. 8, president Satoru Iwata said in a Web cast yesterday. The company faces growing competition from games played online and on smartphones from companies including Apple Inc, which will begin selling the iPhone 5 next week.
The Eurovision Song Contest has seen a surge in punter interest at the bookmakers, becoming a major betting event, experts said ahead of last night’s giant glamfest in Basel. “Eurovision has quietly become one of the biggest betting events of the year,” said Tomi Huttunen, senior manager of the Online Computer Finland (OCS) betting and casino platform. Betting sites have long been used to gauge which way voters might be leaning ahead of the world’s biggest televised live music event. However, bookmakers highlight a huge increase in engagement in recent years — and this year in particular. “We’ve already passed 2023’s total activity and
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) today announced that his company has selected "Beitou Shilin" in Taipei for its new Taiwan office, called Nvidia Constellation, putting an end to months of speculation. Industry sources have said that the tech giant has been eyeing the Beitou Shilin Science Park as the site of its new overseas headquarters, and speculated that the new headquarters would be built on two plots of land designated as "T17" and "T18," which span 3.89 hectares in the park. "I think it's time for us to reveal one of the largest products we've ever built," Huang said near the
China yesterday announced anti-dumping duties as high as 74.9 percent on imports of polyoxymethylene (POM) copolymers, a type of engineering plastic, from Taiwan, the US, the EU and Japan. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce’s findings conclude a probe launched in May last year, shortly after the US sharply increased tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, computer chips and other imports. POM copolymers can partially replace metals such as copper and zinc, and have various applications, including in auto parts, electronics and medical equipment, the Chinese ministry has said. In January, it said initial investigations had determined that dumping was taking place, and implemented preliminary
Intel Corp yesterday reinforced its determination to strengthen its partnerships with Taiwan’s ecosystem partners including original-electronic-manufacturing (OEM) companies such as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) and chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電). “Tonight marks a new beginning. We renew our new partnership with Taiwan ecosystem,” Intel new chief executive officer Tan Lip-bu (陳立武) said at a dinner with representatives from the company’s local partners, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the US chip giant’s presence in Taiwan. Tan took the reins at Intel six weeks ago aiming to reform the chipmaker and revive its past glory. This is the first time Tan
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