ECONOMY
US sees moderate growth
The strong US dollar weighed on manufacturing and tourism spending in the US, while the economy continued “modest expansion” in recent weeks, the US Federal Reserve said in a report on Wednesday. Eleven of the central bank’s 12 districts reported growth, according to the Beige Book survey of economic conditions from mid-August through early this month. Consumer spending, driver of two-thirds of the US output, grew moderately, led by sharper gains in auto sales. Overall, the report was upbeat about the economy, the Fed said.
EMPLOYMENT
UK jobless figures dip
The number of unemployed Britons has fallen to the lowest level in seven years, while average wages grew in real terms, official data showed on Wednesday. The jobless total dipped by 79,000 to 1.77 million people between June and August, the UK Office for National Statistics reported. That was the lowest level since the summer of 2008. The unemployment rate also sank to a seven-year low at 5.4 percent, while employment rose 140,000 to 31 million people, the highest since records began in 1971.
ECONOMY
Germany trims forecast
The German government has trimmed its growth forecast for this year, citing weakness in China and other major emerging economies. German Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Sigmar Gabriel on Wednesday said that Berlin now expects growth of 1.7 percent, down slightly from the 1.8 percent the government predicted in April. He left the forecast for next year unchanged at 1.8 percent.
MANUFACTURING
Unilever boasts 3Q growth
Unilever, the maker of Dove soap and Hellmann’s mayonnaise, yesterday boosted its full-year sales forecast after reporting third-quarter sales growth that beat estimates on improved results in emerging markets and a strong performance from its ice-cream business. Revenue increased 5.7 percent, the best growth in almost three years and well above the 4 percent median analyst estimate. Growth accelerated from the second quarter’s 2.9 percent, boosted by the hottest European summer on record. The company now expects full-year sales “towards the upper end” of a 2 to 4 percent range.
BANKING
BOA returns to profit
Bank of America (BOA), the consumer banking giant, on Wednesday said it swung to a profit in the third quarter, helped by lower borrowing costs and legal expenses. The bank earned US$4.1 billion, or US$0.37 a share, for the three-month period ending last month. That compares with a loss of US$470 million, or US$0.04 a share, in the same period a year earlier. Revenue fell to US$20.68 billion from US$21.4 billion a year earlier.
? Apparel
Burberry hit by decline
Luxury-goods maker Burberry Group PLC yesterday indicated full-year profit is likely to decline for the second straight year as a drop in Asian sales led first-half revenue to miss analysts’ estimates. Adjusted pretax profit is likely to be “broadly in line” with an average of analyst estimates of ￡445 million (US$689 million) in the year through March, Burberry said. Earnings on that basis reached ￡455.8 million last year. Second-quarter retail sales climbed 1 percent, the slowest pace in three years.
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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