ECONOMY
Shanghai to allow exchanges
Shanghai will allow exchanges for iron ore, metals and energy in its free-trade zone as China pushes for more influence in pricing of raw materials and developing the yuan as an international currency. Baosteel Group Corp (寶鋼集團) and Shanghai Ganglian E-Commerce Holdings Co (上海鋼聯電子商務), owner of China’s largest steel researcher Mysteel.com, are among eight companies with approval to set up exchanges in the zone, Shanghai Ganglian board secretary Hu Xiaochun (胡曉純) said. Baosteel is working with the Shanghai government and its partners to set up an iron ore exchange in the zone, spokesman Alex He said.
NEW ZEALAND
Interest rates lifted again
The central bank lifted interest rates for the second time in as many months yesterday, saying it was necessary to contain inflation as an economic recovery gains momentum. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand raised the official cash rate 0.25 points to 3 percent in a move that was widely anticipated by market watchers, who predict rates will hit 4.5 percent by the end of next year.
SPAIN
Fast growth rate reported
The economy grew at the fastest pace in six years in the first quarter of this year, the central bank said yesterday in a preliminary estimate. Available data indicated that economic output climbed by 0.4 percent on a quarterly basis in the first quarter, the largest expansion since a decade-long property boom imploded in 2008, the Bank of Spain said.
GERMANY
Confidence rebounds
Business confidence has rebounded after dipping amid fears about the possible economic impact of the crisis in Ukraine. The Ifo institute yesterday said that its closely watched monthly confidence survey increased to 111.2 points this month from 110.7 last month. The rise was prompted by an improvement in companies’ outlook for the next six months.
CUBA
Moody’s cuts credit rating
Moody’s on Wednesday cut the nation’s credit rating by one notch, citing its vulnerability to a shock rise in fuel costs arising from turmoil in supplier Venezuela. Moody’s also cited the risk of a rocky political transition in the Caribbean island in the wake of the Castro regime as it cut the rating to “Caa2” from “Caa1,” well into “speculative” territory for debt.
PHARMACEUTICALS
Novartis posts profit rise
Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis AG has reported a 24 percent increase in profit for the first quarter, helped by selling parts of its business that were less profitable. The Basel, Switzerland-based company says its net profit rose to nearly US$2.97 billion, up from US$2.42 billion in the period last year, driven by strong sales, key drug approvals and growth in emerging markets.
GAMING
Zynga founder steps down
Online game maker Zynga’s founder, Mark Pincus, is stepping down as chief product officer, less than a year after he was replaced as the company’s CEO, as the company’s sales slide. Zynga said on Wednesday that Pincus will remain chairman of the company he founded in 2007. Including charges connected to job cuts and the closure of some data centers, Zynga said it lost US$61.2 million, or US$0.7 per share, in the first quarter. Revenue continued to decline, dropping 36 percent to US$168 million.
CAUTIOUS RECOVERY: While the manufacturing sector returned to growth amid the US-China trade truce, firms remain wary as uncertainty clouds the outlook, the CIER said The local manufacturing sector returned to expansion last month, as the official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose 2.1 points to 51.0, driven by a temporary easing in US-China trade tensions, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. The PMI gauges the health of the manufacturing industry, with readings above 50 indicating expansion and those below 50 signaling contraction. “Firms are not as pessimistic as they were in April, but they remain far from optimistic,” CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) said at a news conference. The full impact of US tariff decisions is unlikely to become clear until later this month
With an approval rating of just two percent, Peruvian President Dina Boluarte might be the world’s most unpopular leader, according to pollsters. Protests greeted her rise to power 29 months ago, and have marked her entire term — joined by assorted scandals, investigations, controversies and a surge in gang violence. The 63-year-old is the target of a dozen probes, including for her alleged failure to declare gifts of luxury jewels and watches, a scandal inevitably dubbed “Rolexgate.” She is also under the microscope for a two-week undeclared absence for nose surgery — which she insists was medical, not cosmetic — and is
GROWING CONCERN: Some senior Trump administration officials opposed the UAE expansion over fears that another TSMC project could jeopardize its US investment Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is evaluating building an advanced production facility in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and has discussed the possibility with officials in US President Donald Trump’s administration, people familiar with the matter said, in a potentially major bet on the Middle East that would only come to fruition with Washington’s approval. The company has had multiple meetings in the past few months with US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and officials from MGX, an influential investment vehicle overseen by the UAE president’s brother, the people said. The conversations are a continuation of talks that
Alchip Technologies Ltd (世芯), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) designer specializing in artificial-intelligence (AI) chips, yesterday said that small-volume production of 3-nanometer (nm) chips for a key customer is on track to start by the end of this year, dismissing speculation about delays in producing advanced chips. As Alchip is transitioning from 7-nanometer and 5-nanometer process technology to 3 nanometers, investors and shareholders have been closely monitoring whether the company is navigating through such transition smoothly. “We are proceeding well in [building] this generation [of chips]. It appears to me that no revision will be required. We have achieved success in designing
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