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.
MULTIFACETED: A task force has analyzed possible scenarios and created responses to assist domestic industries in dealing with US tariffs, the economics minister said The Executive Yuan is tomorrow to announce countermeasures to US President Donald Trump’s planned reciprocal tariffs, although the details of the plan would not be made public until Monday next week, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. The Cabinet established an economic and trade task force in November last year to deal with US trade and tariff related issues, Kuo told reporters outside the legislature in Taipei. The task force has been analyzing and evaluating all kinds of scenarios to identify suitable responses and determine how best to assist domestic industries in managing the effects of Trump’s tariffs, he
TIGHT-LIPPED: UMC said it had no merger plans at the moment, after Nikkei Asia reported that the firm and GlobalFoundries were considering restarting merger talks United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電), the world’s No. 4 contract chipmaker, yesterday launched a new US$5 billion 12-inch chip factory in Singapore as part of its latest effort to diversify its manufacturing footprint amid growing geopolitical risks. The new factory, adjacent to UMC’s existing Singapore fab in the Pasir Res Wafer Fab Park, is scheduled to enter volume production next year, utilizing mature 22-nanometer and 28-nanometer process technologies, UMC said in a statement. The company plans to invest US$5 billion during the first phase of the new fab, which would have an installed capacity of 30,000 12-inch wafers per month, it said. The
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
‘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
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