MACROECONOMICS
Fed reports US growth
The US economy continued to expand last month and this month, helped by strength in consumer spending, a US Federal Reserve survey released on Wednesday indicates. All 12 of the Fed’s regions reported growth, with five — New York, Chicago, Minneapolis, Dallas and San Francisco — characterizing growth as “moderate” while the others reported “modest” growth. Boston and Richmond reported that growth came in at a slightly slower pace than the previous reporting period. The Fed’s survey, known as the Beige Book, is set to be used by central bank officials when they next meet on July 29 and July 30 to review interest rate policies.
AUTOMAKERS
New car sales rise in Europe
The number of new cars registered in Europe grew for the 10th consecutive month last month, according to industry data published yesterday, adding to evidence that the embattled sector is recovering. Sales of new cars rose by 4.5 percent last month to 1.2 million, the Association of European Automobile Manufacturers (ACEA) said, as the market continues the battle to shake off a recent slump. However, the number of new cars is still low, with the association saying the figure represented “the second-lowest level reached in the month of June since ACEA began the series last year with the enlarged EU.”
COMMUNICATIONS
KDDI, Sumitomo cooperate
Japanese mobile carrier KDDI Corp said yesterday that it planned to link up with trading house Sumitomo Corp in a deal to invest about US$2 billion to develop wireless networks in Myanmar, as the country opens up after years of military rule. The move would see the Japanese giants pair up for a joint venture with state-owned Myanmar Posts & Telecommunications. The deal is to see an investment of ￥200 billion (US$2.0 billion) over a decade to boost phone networks in a country where only about 10 percent of the population of 65 million have access to mobile phones, KDDI said, which is one of the lowest rates in the world.
RETAIL
First Starbucks in Colombia
US chain Starbucks on Wednesday opened its first branch in Colombia — a world famous coffee exporter — apparently unafraid it would be like selling sand at the beach. To gear up for a soft landing, the US company teamed up with local company Nutresa and picked a location in Bogota’s exclusive Parque de la 93 for upscale appeal. Starbucks “is looking to achieve a leadership position in the [Colombian] domestic market,” a Nutresa statement said. Colombia is the world’s leading exporter of smooth arabica and Starbucks has decided to sell 100 percent Colombian beans in all its Colombian outlets.
INTERNET
EBay forecast falls short
EBay Inc gave a sales outlook for the third quarter that fell short of estimates, as the biggest online marketplace struggles to attract more users after a data breach and changes to Google Inc’s search engine. Revenue in the current period is estimated to be US$4.3 billion to US$4.4 billion, the company said in a statement on Wednesday. Profit before certain items will be US$0.65 to US$0.67 a share. The company said it second-quarter sales rose 13 percent to US$4.37 billion, falling short of the average analyst estimate of US$4.39 billion. Net income climbed 5.6 percent to US$676 million, or US$0.53 a share, from US$640 million, or US$0.49, a year earlier.
‘SWASTICAR’: Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s close association with Donald Trump has prompted opponents to brand him a ‘Nazi’ and resulted in a dramatic drop in sales Demonstrators descended on Tesla Inc dealerships across the US, and in Europe and Canada on Saturday to protest company chief Elon Musk, who has amassed extraordinary power as a top adviser to US President Donald Trump. Waving signs with messages such as “Musk is stealing our money” and “Reclaim our country,” the protests largely took place peacefully following fiery episodes of vandalism on Tesla vehicles, dealerships and other facilities in recent weeks that US officials have denounced as terrorism. Hundreds rallied on Saturday outside the Tesla dealership in Manhattan. Some blasted Musk, the world’s richest man, while others demanded the shuttering of his
Taiwan’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) last month rose 0.2 percentage points to 54.2, in a second consecutive month of expansion, thanks to front-loading demand intended to avoid potential US tariff hikes, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. While short-term demand appeared robust, uncertainties rose due to US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable trade policy, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s economy this year would be characterized by high-level fluctuations and the volatility would be wilder than most expect, Lien said Demand for electronics, particularly semiconductors, continues to benefit from US technology giants’ effort
ADVERSARIES: The new list includes 11 entities in China and one in Taiwan, which is a local branch of Chinese cloud computing firm Inspur Group The US added dozens of entities to a trade blacklist on Tuesday, the US Department of Commerce said, in part to disrupt Beijing’s artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced computing capabilities. The action affects 80 entities from countries including China, the United Arab Emirates and Iran, with the commerce department citing their “activities contrary to US national security and foreign policy.” Those added to the “entity list” are restricted from obtaining US items and technologies without government authorization. “We will not allow adversaries to exploit American technology to bolster their own militaries and threaten American lives,” US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said. The entities
Minister of Finance Chuang Tsui-yun (莊翠雲) yesterday told lawmakers that she “would not speculate,” but a “response plan” has been prepared in case Taiwan is targeted by US President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs, which are to be announced on Wednesday next week. The Trump administration, including US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, has said that much of the proposed reciprocal tariffs would focus on the 15 countries that have the highest trade surpluses with the US. Bessent has referred to those countries as the “dirty 15,” but has not named them. Last year, Taiwan’s US$73.9 billion trade surplus with the US
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