ECONOMY
Thai growth forecast cut
Thailand cut its growth forecast for the year after the economy expanded less than analysts estimated last quarter and weakening exports damp the outlook for consumption and investment. GDP rose 1.3 percent in the three months through September from the previous quarter, the Thai National Economic & Social Development Board said yesteday. It revised a contraction in the second quarter to “no growth” from the previous three months. GDP grew 2.7 percent from a year earlier, compared to a median estimate of 2.9 percent in a Bloomberg survey.
INTERNET
Yahoo sued over e-mails
Yahoo was accused in a lawsuit of intercepting e-mails sent to users of its mail service and using personal information to profit from related advertisements. The plaintiff seeks damages of US$5,000 for each person whose privacy was allegedly invaded, according to a complaint filed on Friday last week in the US federal court in San Jose, California.
PROPERTY
London house prices fall
London asking prices for homes fell this month after a 10 percent jump last month as British government measures to boost demand failed to offset the seasonal pre-Christmas decline, Rightmove PLC said. Values in the UK capital dropped 5 percent, or ￡26,956 (US$43,500), to an average ￡517,276, the property Web site operator said in a report yesterday. Across England and Wales, average prices declined by 2.4 percent. As the economy strengthens and the government ramps up property stimulus measures, Rightmove said the underlying recovery remains in place.
MANUFACTURING
Report says Wal-Mart unsafe
A news report says safety problems have been found in nearly half of 75 audited factories in Bangladesh that are Wal-Mart suppliers. According to a report posted on the Wall Street Journal’s Web site on Sunday, Wal-Mart Stores Inc said most of the factories that failed the audit were able to correct problems or are doing so. The company said it has stopped doing business with two factories, and one had to be closed.
INSURANCE
Allianz profits from cyberrisk
Allianz SE, Europe’s biggest insurer, said markets such as Asia, Brazil and eastern Europe, as well as products that protect against cyberrisks will increase revenue at its industrial insurance unit. “New products such as cyberrisk protection and coverage for renewable-energy plants will boost premiums in the mid term,” said Axel Theis, chief executive officer of the Munich-based insurer Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty industrial insurance unit, in an interview. “We will also continue to build our presence in growth markets in Asia, South America, Africa, the Nordic countries and Russia.”
STOCK MARKETS
UK FTSE bosses earn more
The directors of companies in the UK’s FTSE 100 Index saw their total earnings rise 14 percent last year to this year, driven by a 58 percent increase in share-based long-term incentive payments, a study by Incomes Data Services found. The median total earnings of a director of a company in the benchmark index were ￡2.1 million (US$3.4 million), up from ￡1.9 million the year before. The median salary was ￡568,500 and the median long-term incentive payment was ￡1.2 million.
Chizuko Kimura has become the first female sushi chef in the world to win a Michelin star, fulfilling a promise she made to her dying husband to continue his legacy. The 54-year-old Japanese chef regained the Michelin star her late husband, Shunei Kimura, won three years ago for their Sushi Shunei restaurant in Paris. For Shunei Kimura, the star was a dream come true. However, the joy was short-lived. He died from cancer just three months later in June 2022. He was 65. The following year, the restaurant in the heart of Montmartre lost its star rating. Chizuko Kimura insisted that the new star is still down
While China’s leaders use their economic and political might to fight US President Donald Trump’s trade war “to the end,” its army of social media soldiers are embarking on a more humorous campaign online. Trump’s tariff blitz has seen Washington and Beijing impose eye-watering duties on imports from the other, fanning a standoff between the economic superpowers that has sparked global recession fears and sent markets into a tailspin. Trump says his policy is a response to years of being “ripped off” by other countries and aims to bring manufacturing to the US, forcing companies to employ US workers. However, China’s online warriors
Application-specific integrated circuit designer Faraday Technology Corp (智原) yesterday said that although revenue this quarter would decline 30 percent from last quarter, it retained its full-year forecast of revenue growth of 100 percent. The company attributed the quarterly drop to a slowdown in customers’ production of chips using Faraday’s advanced packaging technology. The company is still confident about its revenue growth this year, given its strong “design-win” — or the projects it won to help customers design their chips, Faraday president Steve Wang (王國雍) told an online earnings conference. “The design-win this year is better than we expected. We believe we will win
Intel Corp chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武) is expected to meet with Taiwanese suppliers next month in conjunction with the opening of the Computex Taipei trade show, supply chain sources said on Monday. The visit, the first for Tan to Taiwan since assuming his new post last month, would be aimed at enhancing Intel’s ties with suppliers in Taiwan as he attempts to help turn around the struggling US chipmaker, the sources said. Tan is to hold a banquet to celebrate Intel’s 40-year presence in Taiwan before Computex opens on May 20 and invite dozens of Taiwanese suppliers to exchange views
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