MACROECONOMICS
IMF raises US outlook
The IMF is raising its outlook for the US economy, as a budget deal in Washington and the US Federal Reserve’s plan to taper its bond buying ease doubts about the future, IMF managing director Christine Lagarde said. “We see a lot more certainty for 2014,” she said in an interview broadcast on Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Press. “With the unemployment rate falling, the Fed’s action last week and the government budget agreement, all of that gives us a much stronger outlook for 2014, which brings us to raising our forecast.” In October, the IMF said the US economy would expand 2.6 percent next year, compared with 1.6 percent this year. Lagarde did not specify any new figures in the interview.
MANUFACTURING
Spain producer prices fall
Spanish producer prices fell the most in seven months last month, led by declines in energy and consumer goods. Prices at factory gates declined 0.9 percent from October, when they dropped a revised 0.5 percent, the National Statistics Institute said in a statement. Prices slipped 0.6 percent compared with a year earlier. The Spanish government is trying to drive down the cost of export goods to boost competitiveness, as it looks to foreign demand to drag the economy out of a five-year slump.
JEWELRY
Swatch wins Tiffany suit
Swiss watchmaker Swatch Group has won a lawsuit against US jewelry group Tiffany & Co over a failed joint venture to jointly design and market luxury watches. Tiffany was required to pay Swatch 402 million Swiss francs (US$449 million) under the ruling by the Netherlands Arbitration Institute, Swatch said in a statement. The case stemmed from a 2007-2011 cooperation deal that Swatch said Tiffany had systematically obstructed. Swatch Group had sought SF3.8 billion from its erstwhile partner, while Tiffany had countersued for SF541.9 million from Swatch.
RETAIL
N Brown Group expanding
Internet and catalogue retailer N Brown Group PLC, which owns the Jacamo and Simply Be brands, is seeking to expand its presence in the UK, the Daily Telegraph reported. The company, which has nine outlets in the UK, has hired a former Asda property executive to spearhead the property acquisition, the report said. “We’re looking for locations which will be suitable to house our brands, Jacamo and Simply Be, and complement our established and thriving Internet and catalogue businesses,” N Brown property acquisitions manager Guy Price said.
STEEL
Fitch downgrades POSCO
Fitch Ratings Ltd has lowered POSCO’s credit rating one level to its second-lowest investment grade because of high capital expenditure and rising debt. Fitch does not expect significant improvements in margins at South Korea’s largest steelmaker, as the industry faces severe overcapacity coupled with a slow recovery in global demand, it said in a statement yesterday. It downgraded POSCO’s long-term issuer default rating and senior unsecured rating to “BBB” from “BBB+”.
RETAIL
Prada issues profit warning
Prada SpA shares slid 4.2 percent to HK$68.50 yesterday after the Italian maker of luxury handbags said sales may miss estimates. The luxury retailer said it may fall short of analysts’ projections for fiscal-year revenue following unfavorable currency moves and slowing Europe and Asia demand.
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
RSS