TRADE
German surplus shrinks
Germany’s trade surplus narrowed in July as exports weakened, data published by the federal statistics office Destatis showed yesterday. In seasonally adjusted terms, German exports reached 90.3 billion euros (US$118.6 billion) in July, down from 91.2 billion euros in June, Destatis calculated in a statement. Imports, on the other hand, increased fractionally to 75.8 billion euros from 75.4 billion euros. That meant the seasonally adjusted trade surplus narrowed to 14.5 billion euros in July from 15.8 billion euros in June. In unadjusted terms, the trade surplus dipped to 16.1 billion euros from 16.9 billion euros, Destatis said.
MACROECONOMY
Spain output falls 1.4%
Spain’s factories axed output in July, official data showed yesterday, completing a near two-year industrial decline as domestic demand evaporated in a job-wrecking recession. Factories and utilities reduced production by 1.4 percent in the year to July after smoothing out seasonal blips, the National Statistics Institute said. Output fell 2.2 percent on an annual basis in the previous month.
BANKING
German banks’ outlook up
International credit rating agency Moody’s yesterday said it has upgraded its outlook for Germany’s banks to “stable,” as they have improved their financial strength and stemmed their losses. “The outlook change reflects that, following a year of reduced crisis-related losses and improved capital strength, German banks are now more able to withstand shocks,” Moody’s said in a new report.
MACROECONOMY
US firms add 176,000 jobs
US businesses added 176,000 jobs last month, a private survey showed on Thursday. That was fewer than in June and July, but roughly in line with the monthly average for the year. The payroll company ADP said professional and business services firms added 50,000 jobs. Manufacturers created 5,000, reversing a drop in July, and construction firms 4,000. Companies in all industries and of all sizes hired last month, ADP said.
FOOD & BEVERAGE
Suntory eyes UK brands
Japan’s Suntory Beverage & Food Ltd is in advanced talks to buy the Lucozade and Ribena brands from GlaxoSmithKline for more than ￡1 billion (US$1.6 billion) in a deal that would pre-empt an auction of the iconic British drinks, two people close to the process said. A deal could be announced in the next few days, one of the sources said on Thursday.
AVIATION
Boeing positive on China
US aviation giant Boeing on Thursday said it expected China’s commercial aircraft fleet to triple in size over the next two decades as the nation’s strong economic growth boosts air traffic. China will need 5,580 new airplanes worth US$780 billion by 2032, 16 percent of the world total, the US company said at a briefing in Beijing. That compares with its previous forecast that China would add 5,260 new airplanes to its fleet by 2031.
AIRLINES
Malaysia fines two airlines
The Malaysia Competition Commission yesterday fined Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia for anti-competitive conduct during a short-lived tie-up. The commission said in a statement that the nation’s two dominant carriers would each have to pay a 10 million ringgit (US$3 million) penalty for collaborating to integrate some routes in which they had earlier competed.
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
RSS