PETROLEUM
Schlumberger lays off 9,000
Oil services company Schlumberger Ltd on Thursday said it was firing 9,000 workers due to plunging oil prices that have forced petroleum companies to cut drilling budgets. Schlumberger disclosed the job cuts as it reported sharply lower fourth-quarter earnings in the wake of a more than 50 percent fall in oil prices since June last year. The job cuts account for about 7.5 percent of Schlumberger’s global workforce. Schlumberger’s fourth-quarter earnings came in at US$302 million, down 82 percent from the year-ago level. Revenues rose 6.2 percent to US$12.6 billion. The large drop was due to US$1.8 billion in a series of one-time charges related to the steep fall in commodity prices.
PUERTO RICO
Garcia approves oil tax hike
Puerto Rico’s governor signed a law on Thursday that will increase the excise tax on a barrel of crude oil by 68 percent to help generate funds and sell an anticipated US$2.9 billion in bonds. Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla said he plans to file additional legislation to slightly amend the new law and help the government access financial markets. Garcia called a special session on the issue late last year and legislators passed the measure. He had until today to sign it. The tax per barrel would increase from US$9.25 to US$15.50 and generate about US$178 million a year.
GERMANY
GDP growth accelerates
Germany’s economy accelerated in the final quarter of last year as consumer spending picked up, according to data published on Thursday, a sign that the largest economy in the eurozone could perform moderately better than expected this year. GDP rose 0.25 percent from the third quarter, according to a preliminary estimate by the Federal Statistical Office. For all of last year, growth was 1.5 percent, in line with analyst estimates, after expanding just 0.1 percent a year earlier. Employment rose to a high, and consumers spent more, the statistics office said.
UNITED KINGDOM
Population to grow by 14%
Britain’s population may grow by 14 percent over the next two decades, driven by immigration and a birth rate above the European average, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said yesterday in an estimate posted on its Web site. Immigration and the higher fertility rate of non-UK born women is projected to push the British population to 73.3 million in 2037 from 64.1 million in 2013, the ONS said. That could leave Britain, which has seen its population grow from 56.3 million in 1980, poised to overtake Germany as Europe’s most populous country.
RETAIL
Carrefour hits sales forecast
Carrefour SA reported fourth-quarter sales in line with analysts’ estimates, led by growth in Latin America. Revenue advanced 2 percent to 22.6 billion euros (US$26.3 billion), the French firm said yesterday in a statement. Sales climbed 3.1 percent on a like-for-like basis, excluding gasoline and calendar effects. In Brazil, where like-for-like sales rose 10 percent, excluding gasoline and calendar effects, the retailer has pledged to boost investment substantially after selling a stake in its local unit last month. Carrefour said last year’s recurring operating income will be in line with 2.38 billion euros as expected.
Ryanair, Transavia, Volotea and other low-cost airlines are feeling the financial pain from high jet fuel prices as a result of the Middle East war and are cutting flights. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has taken a huge chunk of oil supplies off the market, sending the price of jet fuel soaring and triggering fears of shortages that could force airlines to cancel flights. Airlines are not waiting for a lack of supplies to react. “Travel alert: Airlines are cutting thousands of flights right now,” Travel Therapy host Karen Schaler said in an Instagram reel this past weekend.
MANAGING RISKS: Taiwan has secured LNG sufficient to cover 95 percent of electricity demand for next month, UBS said, describing the government’s approach as proactive UBS Group AG has raised its forecast for Taiwan’s economic growth this year to 8 percent, up from 6.9 percent previously, and said expansion could reach as high as 8.6 percent if external energy shocks are avoided. The upgrade reflects a stronger-than-expected first-quarter performance and sustained momentum in artificial intelligence (AI)-driven exports, which UBS said are providing a firm foundation for growth despite geopolitical and energy risks. Taiwan’s GDP expanded 13.69 percent year-on-year in the first quarter, the fastest growth since the second quarter of 1987, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) reported on Thursday. On a seasonally
The Fair Trade Commission’s (FTC) ongoing review of Grab Holdings Ltd’s US$600 million acquisition of Foodpanda Taiwan’s operations, announced on March 23, has taken on fresh urgency as industry experts warn that the transaction could embed significant Chinese cybersecurity vulnerabilities into Taiwan’s digital infrastructure through Grab’s deep ties to autonomous-driving firm WeRide (文遠知行). Less than 16 months after the FTC blocked Uber Eats’ direct attempt to acquire Foodpanda Taiwan — citing potential combined market shares of 80 to 90 percent — the emergence of Grab as the buyer has prompted questions about whether the same competitive harm is simply being rerouted
The list of Asian stocks that benefit from business partnership with Nvidia Corp is getting longer, as the region further integrates into the artificial intelligence (AI) chip giant’s business ecosystem. Just in the past week, South Korea’s LG Electronics Inc, Taiwan’s Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技), as well as China’s Huizhou Desay SV Automotive Co (德賽西威) and Pateo Connect Technology Shanghai Corp (博泰車聯) have become the latest to rally on news of tie-ups, supply-chain participation or product collaboration with the US chip designer. Asian suppliers account for about 90 percent of Nvidia’s production costs, up from about 65 percent last year, data compiled
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