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.
The US dollar was trading at NT$29.7 at 10am today on the Taipei Foreign Exchange, as the New Taiwan dollar gained NT$1.364 from the previous close last week. The NT dollar continued to rise today, after surging 3.07 percent on Friday. After opening at NT$30.91, the NT dollar gained more than NT$1 in just 15 minutes, briefly passing the NT$30 mark. Before the US Department of the Treasury's semi-annual currency report came out, expectations that the NT dollar would keep rising were already building. The NT dollar on Friday closed at NT$31.064, up by NT$0.953 — a 3.07 percent single-day gain. Today,
‘SHORT TERM’: The local currency would likely remain strong in the near term, driven by anticipated US trade pressure, capital inflows and expectations of a US Fed rate cut The US dollar is expected to fall below NT$30 in the near term, as traders anticipate increased pressure from Washington for Taiwan to allow the New Taiwan dollar to appreciate, Cathay United Bank (國泰世華銀行) chief economist Lin Chi-chao (林啟超) said. Following a sharp drop in the greenback against the NT dollar on Friday, Lin told the Central News Agency that the local currency is likely to remain strong in the short term, driven in part by market psychology surrounding anticipated US policy pressure. On Friday, the US dollar fell NT$0.953, or 3.07 percent, closing at NT$31.064 — its lowest level since Jan.
The New Taiwan dollar and Taiwanese stocks surged on signs that trade tensions between the world’s top two economies might start easing and as US tech earnings boosted the outlook of the nation’s semiconductor exports. The NT dollar strengthened as much as 3.8 percent versus the US dollar to 30.815, the biggest intraday gain since January 2011, closing at NT$31.064. The benchmark TAIEX jumped 2.73 percent to outperform the region’s equity gauges. Outlook for global trade improved after China said it is assessing possible trade talks with the US, providing a boost for the nation’s currency and shares. As the NT dollar
The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) yesterday met with some of the nation’s largest insurance companies as a skyrocketing New Taiwan dollar piles pressure on their hundreds of billions of dollars in US bond investments. The commission has asked some life insurance firms, among the biggest Asian holders of US debt, to discuss how the rapidly strengthening NT dollar has impacted their operations, people familiar with the matter said. The meeting took place as the NT dollar jumped as much as 5 percent yesterday, its biggest intraday gain in more than three decades. The local currency surged as exporters rushed to
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