MACROECONOMICS
US sees regional growth
The US economy was expanding in all regions of the nation in the late spring, aided by strong sales of autos and other consumer goods. In its latest survey of business conditions, the US Federal Reserve said some regions reported that lower energy prices were encouraging consumers to shop and eat out more. The economy was also boosted by growing sales of homes and commercial real estate, while employment growth was solid. The Fed report, known as the Beige Book, is to be used by officials when they meet on July 28 and July 29 to consider interest rate policies.
MACROECONOMICS
Canada cuts key rate
The Bank of Canada on Wednesday cut its key lending rate by a quarter-point to 0.5 percent in a bid to stimulate an economy that fell into recession in the first half of the year. It is the second time this year that the Canadian central bank has slashed rates to revive an economy badly hit by lower global oil prices. “The Bank’s estimate of growth in Canada in 2015 has been marked down considerably from its April projection,” it said in a statement.
AUTOMAKERS
European sales surge
European auto-sales growth accelerated to its fastest pace in five-and-a-half years last month as Volkswagen AG, PSA Peugeot Citroen and Ford Motor Co attracted customers with new models and the region’s economy expanded. Registrations rose 15 percent to 1.41 million autos from 1.23 million in the same period a year earlier, the Brussels-based European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association said yesterday. The jump was the biggest since a 16 percent surge in December 2009, when governments in the region offered incentives on trade-ins of older cars to help the industry recover from the global recession.
SOUTH KOREA
Samsung deal to go ahead
The Seoul High Court yesterday rejected the latest effort by US hedge fund Elliott Associates LP to block the US$8 billion merger of two Samsung affiliates. The ruling by the appeals court clears any final obstacle to the convening of a shareholders’ meeting scheduled for today that is to see a vote on the proposed takeover of construction company Samsung C&T Corp by affiliate Cheil Industries Inc.
CHIPMAKERS
EU investigates Qualcomm
The EU opened two antitrust probes into Qualcomm Inc amid concerns the chip supplier for mobile devices might be unfairly squeezing out rivals. The European Commission said it is probing possible predatory pricing practices by Qualcomm for certain chipsets. It is also looking at possible rebates Qualcomm might have offered customers and whether this hinders competition.
RETAIL
Carrefour’s China sales slow
Carrefour SA, France’s largest retailer, reported a slowdown in quarterly sales as Chinese revenue declined amid weak consumption. Second-quarter revenue rose 4.2 percent to 21.4 billion euros (US$23.36 billion), Carrefour said yesterday, a slowdown from the first-quarter’s 6.2 percent gain. Like-for-like Chinese sales fell 12 percent excluding fuel and calendar effects. Carrefour chief financial officer Pierre-Jean Sivignon said the company remains committed to the Chinese market, where the retailer got 6.5 percent of sales last year.
China has claimed a breakthrough in developing homegrown chipmaking equipment, an important step in overcoming US sanctions designed to thwart Beijing’s semiconductor goals. State-linked organizations are advised to use a new laser-based immersion lithography machine with a resolution of 65 nanometers or better, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said in an announcement this month. Although the note does not specify the supplier, the spec marks a significant step up from the previous most advanced indigenous equipment — developed by Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment Group Co (SMEE, 上海微電子) — which stood at about 90 nanometers. MIIT’s claimed advances last
ISSUES: Gogoro has been struggling with ballooning losses and was recently embroiled in alleged subsidy fraud, using Chinese-made components instead of locally made parts Gogoro Inc (睿能創意), the nation’s biggest electric scooter maker, yesterday said that its chairman and CEO Horace Luke (陸學森) has resigned amid chronic losses and probes into the company’s alleged involvement in subsidy fraud. The board of directors nominated Reuntex Group (潤泰集團) general counsel Tamon Tseng (曾夢達) as the company’s new chairman, Gogoro said in a statement. Ruentex is Gogoro’s biggest stakeholder. Gogoro Taiwan general manager Henry Chiang (姜家煒) is to serve as acting CEO during the interim period, the statement said. Luke’s departure came as a bombshell yesterday. As a company founder, he has played a key role in pushing for the
EUROPE ON HOLD: Among a flurry of announcements, Intel said it would postpone new factories in Germany and Poland, but remains committed to its US expansion Intel Corp chief executive officer Pat Gelsinger has landed Amazon.com Inc’s Amazon Web Services (AWS) as a customer for the company’s manufacturing business, potentially bringing work to new plants under construction in the US and boosting his efforts to turn around the embattled chipmaker. Intel and AWS are to coinvest in a custom semiconductor for artificial intelligence computing — what is known as a fabric chip — in a “multiyear, multibillion-dollar framework,” Intel said in a statement on Monday. The work would rely on Intel’s 18A process, an advanced chipmaking technology. Intel shares rose more than 8 percent in late trading after the
GLOBAL ECONOMY: Policymakers have a choice of a small 25 basis-point cut or a bold cut of 50 basis points, which would help the labor market, but might reignite inflation The US Federal Reserve is gearing up to announce its first interest rate cut in more than four years on Wednesday, with policymakers expected to debate how big a move to make less than two months before the US presidential election. Senior officials at the US central bank including Fed Chairman Jerome Powell have in recent weeks indicated that a rate cut is coming this month, as inflation eases toward the bank’s long-term target of two percent, and the labor market continues to cool. The Fed, which has a dual mandate from the US Congress to act independently to ensure
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