REAL ESTATE
US home construction rises
New US home construction and new building permits both jumped last month, demonstrating rising strength in the housing market, the US Department of Commerce reported on Friday. New construction was up 9.8 percent from May to an annual pace of 1.17 million units, while permitting rose 7.4 percent to an annual pace of 1.34 million units. For the first six months of the year, housing starts were 10.9 percent higher than the year-before period, while permits, an indicator of future construction, were up 16.2 percent.
ECONOMY
Canada consumer prices up
Consumer prices in Canada rose 1 percent on an annual basis last month, up from 0.9 percent the previous month, official data showed on Friday. Statistics Canada said the modest inflation rate was due, in large part, to lower energy prices. The Consumer Price Index rose 2.1 percent during the same period when energy prices are taken out of the equation, officials said. The core inflation rate rose a notch last month to 2.3 percent, compared with 2.2 percent in May, remaining above the central bank’s 2 percent target.
AUTOMAKERS
Ferrari to recall 800 cars
Italian luxury automaker Ferrari is recalling about 800 cars in North America after discovering it had improperly installed Takata Corp airbags. According to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Ferrari North America is recalling 814 certain model-year 2015 458 Italia, 458 Spider, 458 Speciale, 458 Speciale A, California T, FF, F12 Berlinetta and LaFerrari vehicles.
FINANCE
GE reports quarterly losses
General Electric Co (GE) on Friday reported a second-quarter loss due to restructuring costs. The company saw a loss of US$1.36 billion for the quarter ending June 30, compared with a profit of US$3.54 billion a year ago. However, operating profits from GE’s industrial segment rose 4.6 percent to US$4.36 billion. The company also said it would press on to complete the US$12 billion purchase of French company Alstom SA’s energy business and the US$3.3 billion sale of its appliances business to Sweden’s Electrolux AB.
STEEL
POSCO India project on hold
South Korea’s POSCO Co Ltd, the world’s fifth-largest steelmaker, on Friday said it was placing a US$12 billion steel project in India on hold, as part of the restructuring of its bloated business structure at home and abroad. POSCO, which has 48 subsidiaries under its wing, said the project was launched in 2005, but has made little progress due to delays in getting clearances and acquiring land from local residents.
MERGERS
CF eyes OCI agreement
CF Industries Holdings Inc, the largest US nitrogen-based fertilizer producer, is in talks with Dutch rival OCI NV about a merger, a person with knowledge of the matter said. The discussions are at a very early stage and could still fall apart, the person said, adding that there is no certainty that an agreement will be reached. In October lats year, CF terminated talks with Norway’s Yara International ASA over creating the world’s bigger maker of nitrogen fertilizer.
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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