UNITED KINGDOM
S&P warns of rating risk
Standard & Poor’s rating agency says the country’s cherished “AAA” long-term credit rating will stay for now — but warned there was still a chance of a downgrade if the economy weakens. The move comes after fellow ratings agency Moody’s downgraded its “AAA” credit rating for the country one notch to “AA1” in February. S&P said on Friday it would leave the rating on a negative outlook because the agency views a one-in-three chance that it could cut ratings over the next two years if the country’s economy weakens beyond current expectations.
SPAIN
Social housing plan unveiled
The government said on Friday that it would invest 2.4 billion euros (US$3.12 billion) over the next three years to help the poor gain access to rental housing and renovate buildings to boost the stricken construction sector. Spain, the fourth-biggest eurozone economy, fell into crisis after a real-estate bubble burst in 2008, and since then, officials have carried out 252,826 expulsion orders, 61 percent of all issued so far.
PORTUGAL
Pay cuts ruled unlawful
The Constitutional Court has ruled that some of the unpopular pay cuts in this year’s state budget are unlawful, denying the government about 1.4 billion euros of predicted revenue. Among the reasons for the decision were that the measures neglected guarantees of equality. Private sector workers are not subject to the measures. The court’s decision on Friday delivers a setback to the austerity strategy agreed between the government and foreign creditors who lent Portugal 78 billion euros in a bailout two years ago.
MOROCCO
Public investment on hold
The government announced that it will suspend 15 billion dirhams (US$1.75 billion) of public investment to help balance an overstretched budget during the country’s current economic crisis. The country’s economy grew only 2.4 percent last year due to a poor harvest and the effect of Europe’s economic crisis on the country’s two key trading partners, Spain and France. This year’s growth is forecast to be 4.3 percent.
AUTOMAKERS
Toyota settles with US county
Toyota has agreed to a US$16 million deal with a southern Californian county over charges the Japanese auto giant hid safety issues linked to unintended acceleration of cars, officials said on Friday. Toyota issued recalls in 2009 and 2010 affecting nearly 6 million vehicles in the US due to the risk caused by floor mats and “sticky” gas pedal issues. More than 200 US federal and about 100 state cases were filed.
INTERNET
Chernin bids for Hulu
Former News Corp chief operating officer Peter Chernin offered at least US$500 million for Hulu, the online TV service he helped found, two anonymous sources said. Chernin submitted the bid for Hulu last week, the sources said. The price does not include Hulu’s US$330 million in debt and would increase with additional content rights and longer contract terms, they said. Hulu’s controlling owners, News Corp and Walt Disney Co, are weighing whether to sell Hulu or buy each other out.
Real estate agent and property developer JSL Construction & Development Co (愛山林) led the average compensation rankings among companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) last year, while contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) finished 14th. JSL Construction paid its employees total average compensation of NT$4.78 million (US$159,701), down 13.5 percent from a year earlier, but still ahead of the most profitable listed tech giants, including TSMC, TWSE data showed. Last year, the average compensation (which includes salary, overtime, bonuses and allowances) paid by TSMC rose 21.6 percent to reach about NT$3.33 million, lifting its ranking by 10 notches
SEASONAL WEAKNESS: The combined revenue of the top 10 foundries fell 5.4%, but rush orders and China’s subsidies partially offset slowing demand Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) further solidified its dominance in the global wafer foundry business in the first quarter of this year, remaining far ahead of its closest rival, Samsung Electronics Co, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. TSMC posted US$25.52 billion in sales in the January-to-March period, down 5 percent from the previous quarter, but its market share rose from 67.1 percent the previous quarter to 67.6 percent, TrendForce said in a report. While smartphone-related wafer shipments declined in the first quarter due to seasonal factors, solid demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) devices and urgent TV-related orders
Prices of gasoline and diesel products at domestic fuel stations are this week to rise NT$0.2 and NT$0.3 per liter respectively, after international crude oil prices increased 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 snapped a two-week losing streak as the geopolitical situation between Russia and Ukraine turned increasingly tense, CPC said in a statement. News that some oil production facilities in Alberta, Canada, were shut down due to wildfires and that US-Iran nuclear talks made no progress also helped push oil prices to a significant weekly gain, Formosa said
MINERAL DIPLOMACY: The Chinese commerce ministry said it approved applications for the export of rare earths in a move that could help ease US-China trade tensions Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰) is today to meet a US delegation for talks in the UK, Beijing announced on Saturday amid a fragile truce in the trade dispute between the two powers. He is to visit the UK from yesterday to Friday at the invitation of the British government, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. He and US representatives are to cochair the first meeting of the US-China economic and trade consultation mechanism, it said. US President Donald Trump on Friday announced that a new round of trade talks with China would start in London beginning today,
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