GERMANY
Inflation does not rise
Consumer prices did not rise last month, data showed yesterday, raising pressure on the European Central Bank to prevent the eurozone from slipping into a dangerous cycle of falling prices. The national inflation yardstick, the consumer price index (CPI), showed zero change last month, after rising by a meager 0.2 percent the previous month, the federal statistics office Destatis said. The main factor behind the slowdown was a renewed decline in energy prices, the office said. Using the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices — the barometer used by the European Central Bank — the inflation rate actually declined by 0.2 percent year-on-year last month.
FAST FOOD
Jollibee buys into US chain
The Philippines’ leading fast-food company Jollibee Foods Corp yesterday announced it had acquired 40 percent of an upmarket US hamburger chain for US$99 million. Jollibee said in a statement it was acquiring part of Denver-based Smashburger Master LLC, which has 339 restaurants in the US, Canada, the Middle East and South America. It is the largest-ever acquisition by Jollibee and its biggest investment outside of the Philippines, the company said.
AUTOMAKERS
China sales slow
Passenger-vehicle sales this year in China have expanded at the slowest pace since 2012. Retail deliveries of cars, sports utility vehicles and multipurpose vehicles increased 5.8 percent to 14.4 million units in the January-to-September period, according to the China Passenger Car Association, the slowest pace in three years. Sales for last month rose 2.5 percent, the second consecutive month of gains after declining in June and July. Sports utility vehicles were the only category that saw sales increase last month, surging 60 percent to 548,508 units. Deliveries of sedans, multipurpose vehicles and light-commercial vehicles all declined.
LUXURY GOODS
LVMH revenue surprises
LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE, the world’s largest luxury-goods maker, on Monday reported third-quarter revenue that exceeded analysts’ estimates, boosted by growth in Europe, the US and Japan. Revenue advanced 7 percent on an organic basis, the Paris-based company said. Gains at the wines-and-spirits unit outweighed slower-than-anticipated growth in fashion and leather goods. While sales of leather goods, cognac and watches have fallen in China following a clampdown on extravagance, Europe and Japan have benefited as Chinese consumers buy abroad. LVMH-owned Bulgari has seen record travel purchases this year, the jeweler said last month.
PAPER
Svenska to acquire Wausau
Svenska Cellulosa AB, Europe’s largest private forest owner, agreed to acquire Wausau Paper Corp for US$513 million in cash as it expands in the North American market for professional hygiene products for offices, hospitals and washrooms. Wausau Paper, which employs about 900 people, generated US$352 million in sales last year from its tissue products and soap dispensing systems, and posted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of US$38 million. The offer price is 40.6 percent higher than Wausau Paper’s closing price on Monday. The acquisition is expected to generate annual savings of about US$40 million as costs tied to procurement and logistics.
DOLLAR CHALLENGE: BRICS countries’ growing share of global GDP threatens the US dollar’s dominance, which some member states seek to displace for world trade US president-elect Donald Trump on Saturday threatened 100 percent tariffs against a bloc of nine nations if they act to undermine the US dollar. His threat was directed at countries in the so-called BRICS alliance, which consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. Turkey, Azerbaijan and Malaysia have applied to become members and several other countries have expressed interest in joining. While the US dollar is by far the most-used currency in global business and has survived past challenges to its preeminence, members of the alliance and other developing nations say they are fed
LIMITED MEASURES: The proposed restrictions on Chinese chip exports are weaker than previously considered, following lobbying by major US firms, sources said US President Joe Biden’s administration is weighing additional curbs on sales of semiconductor equipment and artificial intelligence (AI) memory chips to China that would escalate the US crackdown on Beijing’s tech ambitions, but stop short of some stricter measures previously considered, said sources familiar with the matter. The restrictions could be unveiled as soon as next week, said the sources, who emphasized that the timing and contours of the rules have changed several times, and that nothing is final until they are published. The measures follow months of deliberations by US officials, negotiations with allies in Japan and the Netherlands, and
Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) yesterday said it expects any impact of new tariffs from US president-elect Donald Trump to hit the company less than its rivals, citing its global manufacturing footprint. Young Liu (劉揚偉), chairman of the contract manufacturer and key Apple Inc supplier, told reporters after a forum in Taipei that it saw the primary impact of any fresh tariffs falling on its clients because its business model is based on contract manufacturing. “Clients may decide to shift production locations, but looking at Foxconn’s global footprint, we are ahead. As a result, the impact on us is likely smaller compared to
TECH COMPETITION: The US restricted sales of two dozen types of manufacturing equipment and three software tools, and blacklisted 140 more Chinese entities US President Joe Biden’s administration unveiled new restrictions on China’s access to vital components for chips and artificial intelligence (AI), escalating a campaign to contain Beijing’s technological ambitions. The US Department of Commerce slapped additional curbs on the sale of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and chipmaking gear, including that produced by US firms at foreign facilities. It also blacklisted 140 more Chinese entities that it accused of acting on Beijing’s behalf, although it did not name them in an initial statement. Full details on the new sanctions and Entity List additions were to be published later yesterday, a US official said. The US “will
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