INDONESIA
Growth on the wane
Growth slipped below 6 percent last quarter as exports and investment fell in Southeast Asia’s top economy due to global weakness, official data showed yesterday. GDP was 5.81 percent in the three months to the end of June year-on-year, below economists’ expectations, according to data from the Central Statistics Agency. This compared to 6.02 percent in the January to March quarter. The country’s trade deficit widened to US$850 million in June from US$590 million in May due to weak demand for exports, data showed this week.
BRAZIL
Imports boost trade gap
The nation posted a US$4.98 billion trade deficit in the first seven months of the year, due to record imports, the Ministry of Industry and Trade said on Thursday. Imports rose 10 percent compared with the same period last year to US$140 billion, while exports fell 1.5 percent to US$135.2 billion during the period. Last month alone, the country recorded a deficit of US$1.89 billion, with exports slumping 5.2 percent and imports surging 19.7 percent compared with the same month of last year.
UNITED STATES
Manufacturing on the up
Factories revved up production, hired more workers and received a surge of new orders last month, helping them expand at the fastest pace in two years. The gains suggest manufacturing may be rebounding and could provide a spark to economic growth. The Institute for Supply Management said on Thursday that its index of factory activity jumped to 55.4 in July, up from 50.9 in June. A reading above 50 indicates growth. The institute is a trade group of purchasing managers. A gauge of production soared 11.6 points to 65, the highest reading since May 2004, while a measure of hiring at factories rose to its best level in a year.
UNITED STATES
Auto sales best since 2006
Auto sales across the nation continued to accelerate, posting the best performance for July since 2006 on Thursday as consumers flocked to dealerships to replace ageing vehicles with new models at low interest rates. Total industry sales rose 14 percent from results in the same period last year, according to Autodata. The sales came in at an adjusted, annualized rate of 15.7 million units, down slightly from the 16 million posted in June but up sharply from the 14.1 million set a year ago.
AUTOMAKERS
Toyota enjoys profit surge
Toyota Motor Corp said yesterday net profit soared 93.6 percent in the three months to June, adding that it is on track to produce more than 10 million vehicles worldwide this year. The world’s biggest automaker earned ￥562.19 billion (US$5.64 billion) in the quarter on sales of ￥6.25 trillion, which were up 13.7 percent from a year earlier. Toyota credited a sharp decline in the yen among the factors for its improved results. The company added that it expects a net profit of ￥1.48 trillion for the fiscal year to March on sales of ￥24 trillion.
INTERNET
LinkedIn income up 33%
LinkedIn’s second-quarter net income rose 33 percent as the online professional networking service’s membership growth accelerated, the company said on Thursday. The Mountain View, California-based company earned US$3.7 million, or US$0.03 per share, during the quarter, from US$2.8 million, or US$0.03 per share, last year.
BYPASSING CHINA TARIFFS: In the first five months of this year, Foxconn sent US$4.4bn of iPhones to the US from India, compared with US$3.7bn in the whole of last year Nearly all the iPhones exported by Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) from India went to the US between March and last month, customs data showed, far above last year’s average of 50 percent and a clear sign of Apple Inc’s efforts to bypass high US tariffs imposed on China. The numbers, being reported by Reuters for the first time, show that Apple has realigned its India exports to almost exclusively serve the US market, when previously the devices were more widely distributed to nations including the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. During March to last month, Foxconn, known as Hon Hai Precision Industry
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and the University of Tokyo (UTokyo) yesterday announced the launch of the TSMC-UTokyo Lab to promote advanced semiconductor research, education and talent development. The lab is TSMC’s first laboratory collaboration with a university outside Taiwan, the company said in a statement. The lab would leverage “the extensive knowledge, experience, and creativity” of both institutions, the company said. It is located in the Asano Section of UTokyo’s Hongo, Tokyo, campus and would be managed by UTokyo faculty, guided by directors from UTokyo and TSMC, the company said. TSMC began working with UTokyo in 2019, resulting in 21 research projects,
Ashton Hall’s morning routine involves dunking his head in iced Saratoga Spring Water. For the company that sells the bottled water — Hall’s brand of choice for drinking, brushing his teeth and submerging himself — that is fantastic news. “We’re so thankful to this incredible fitness influencer called Ashton Hall,” Saratoga owner Primo Brands Corp’s CEO Robbert Rietbroek said on an earnings call after Hall’s morning routine video went viral. “He really helped put our brand on the map.” Primo Brands, which was not affiliated with Hall when he made his video, is among the increasing number of companies benefiting from influencer
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) yesterday expressed a downbeat view about the prospects of humanoid robots, given high manufacturing costs and a lack of target customers. Despite rising demand and high expectations for humanoid robots, high research-and-development costs and uncertain profitability remain major concerns, Lam told reporters following the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Taoyuan. “Since it seems a bit unworthy to use such high-cost robots to do household chores, I believe robots designed for specific purposes would be more valuable and present a better business opportunity,” Lam said Instead of investing in humanoid robots, Quanta has opted to invest
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