SPAIN
Economy grows 1.4 percent
The nation’s recovering economy grew by 1.4 percent last year, provisional official data showed yesterday, after shrinking by 1.2 percent in the previous year, but remains plagued by mass unemployment. It is the first time there has been full-year economic growth since 2008, when a labor-intensive property bubble collapsed, pushing millions of people out of work. Growth accelerated in the fourth quarter to 0.7 percent from 0.5 percent in the third quarter, according to provisional figures from the National Statistics Office. The provisional figures are in line with the conservative government’s estimate for economic growth last year. The government predicts the economy, the eurozone’s fourth-largest, will expand by 2 percent this year. Minister of Economic Affairs and Competitiveness Luis de Guindos on Monday said the economy could grow by as much as 2.5 percent this year if oil prices and the euro stay low.
AVIATION
Qatar buys stake in IAG
Qatar Airways Ltd bought a 9.99 percent stake in British Airways PLC parent IAG SA, anchoring itself to its main European ally in a partnership that promises better access to the Americas and traffic flows through its Persian Gulf hub. The carrier from the Middle East might consider increasing its stake further over time, Qatar said in a statement yesterday. Qatar is limited to a 49 percent stake in a European carrier, and the airline said it wants to stick to its current holding for now. The surprise purchase of a stake comes as IAG itself seeks to purchase an airline, with its preliminary bid for Ireland’s Aer Lingus PLC valued at about US$1.52 billion.
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Singapore charges traders
Two former foreign exchange traders from HSBC Holdings PLC and Deutsche Bank AG were charged in Singapore for allegedly cheating their employers by making false trades. The two men, in unrelated cases, bought and sold about US$1.1 billion in US dollars in November 2009 using the banks’ accounts to get preferential rates for themselves, according to charge sheets filed on Thursday with a Singapore state court. They allegedly made wrongful gains of about S$370,000 (US$295,928). Former HSBC senior dealer Ivan Chng, 46, faces 149 charges for about US$870 million of trades to facilitate transactions in his wife’s accounts. He allegedly made a wrongful gain of around S$230,000. Toh Hway Khuan, 49, was charged with 39 counts and made almost US$300 million in US dollar trades. The former Deutsche Bank spot trader is accused of unlawfully making about S$140,000. Each charge carries a maximum seven-year jail term and a fine of as much as S$250,000.
AUTOMAKERS
Ford net income nosedives
After several years as the leader in profits and performance among US automakers, the Ford Motor Co, hit a speed bump last year. Ford said on Thursday that its net income for the year plummeted 56 percent from the previous year, primarily because of higher costs, lower volumes and a series of surprising setbacks. For the year, Ford said it earned US$3.19 billion, down from US$7.18 billion in net income during 2013, and its global revenue fell 2 percent from the year before. The fourth quarter was particularly challenging for Ford, which ranks second in revenue behind General Motors Co among US carmakers. Its net income was US$52 million, a sharp decrease from the US$3.07 billion it earned in the year-ago period.
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
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
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
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