UNITED KINGDOM
Interest rates cut unlikely
The economy barely slowed in the third quarter despite the Brexit vote shock, further diminishing the chance of a fresh interest rate cut by the Bank of England next week. GDP expanded by 0.5 percent in the July-to-September period, less rapid than the unusually strong growth of 0.7 percent seen in the second quarter, but comfortably above a median forecast of 0.3 percent in a Reuters poll of economists. Compared with the third quarter of last year, growth picked up to 2.3 percent, the strongest pace in more than a year, according to the preliminary figures from the Office for National Statistics.
ACQUISITION
Fujitsu, Lenovo talk merger
Japan’s Fujitsu Ltd yesterday said it was in talks to merge its struggling PC business with Chinese computer giant Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想), sending its shares soaring 7.8 percent as the company also announced a recovery in profits. Tokyo-based Fujitsu said it and Lenovo, the world’s largest personal computer maker, are “exploring a strategic cooperation in the realm of research, development, design and manufacturing of personal computers for the global market.” The two firms are also talking with government-backed Development Bank of Japan for financial and strategic support.
AUTOMAKERS
VW profits bounce back
Volkswagen AG (VW) yesterday said profits bounced back to 2.34 billion euros (US$2.55 billion) in the third quarter from a large loss a year earlier, when it had one-time losses in anticipation of settling its scandal over cars rigged to cheat on diesel emissions tests. The figure for profit after tax reversed last year’s loss of 1.67 billion euros. For the year-earlier quarter, the company took a 6.7 billion euros charge in anticipation of looming costs for recalls, fixes and buybacks of cars with software that enabled the cheating. Third-quarter sales revenue rose 1 percent to 52.0 billion euros.
BANKING
Deutsche Bank reports profit
Deutsche Bank AG, under pressure from an impending settlement with the US Department of Justice, reported 278 million euros (US$303 million) in net profit for the third quarter as it strengthened its financial buffers against loss. The profit contrasted with a loss of 6 billion euros a year earlier, when the bank had large one-time charges. Chief executive officer John Cryan yesterday said on a conference call with analysts that “the results for the quarter show the resilience of our operating business in a tough environment and show the progress we are making toward restructuring the bank.”
COMMUNICATIONS
Nokia slides 12 percent
Nokia Oyj yesterday said it made a net loss in the third quarter and saw a 12 percent drop in sales amid a downturn in the networks industry, as the company reported combined results after the acquisition of Alcatel-Lucent SA. The Finland-based communications networks operator said the net loss was 125 million euros on sales of 5.9 billion euros in the period. A year earlier Nokia reported a stand-alone profit of 152 million euros on sales of 3 billion euros. The technologies section of the business more than doubled sales to 353 million euros, mainly due to a licensing agreement with South Korean Samsung Electronics Co.
Real estate agent and property developer JSL Construction & Development Co (愛山林) led the average compensation rankings among companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) last year, while contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) finished 14th. JSL Construction paid its employees total average compensation of NT$4.78 million (US$159,701), down 13.5 percent from a year earlier, but still ahead of the most profitable listed tech giants, including TSMC, TWSE data showed. Last year, the average compensation (which includes salary, overtime, bonuses and allowances) paid by TSMC rose 21.6 percent to reach about NT$3.33 million, lifting its ranking by 10 notches
Popular vape brands such as Geek Bar might get more expensive in the US — if you can find them at all. Shipments of vapes from China to the US ground to a near halt last month from a year ago, official data showed, hit by US President Donald Trump’s tariffs and a crackdown on unauthorized e-cigarettes in the world’s biggest market for smoking alternatives. That includes Geek Bar, a brand of flavored vapes that is not authorized to sell in the US, but which had been widely available due to porous import controls. One retailer, who asked not to be named, because
SEASONAL WEAKNESS: The combined revenue of the top 10 foundries fell 5.4%, but rush orders and China’s subsidies partially offset slowing demand Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) further solidified its dominance in the global wafer foundry business in the first quarter of this year, remaining far ahead of its closest rival, Samsung Electronics Co, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. TSMC posted US$25.52 billion in sales in the January-to-March period, down 5 percent from the previous quarter, but its market share rose from 67.1 percent the previous quarter to 67.6 percent, TrendForce said in a report. While smartphone-related wafer shipments declined in the first quarter due to seasonal factors, solid demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) devices and urgent TV-related orders
MINERAL DIPLOMACY: The Chinese commerce ministry said it approved applications for the export of rare earths in a move that could help ease US-China trade tensions Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰) is today to meet a US delegation for talks in the UK, Beijing announced on Saturday amid a fragile truce in the trade dispute between the two powers. He is to visit the UK from yesterday to Friday at the invitation of the British government, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. He and US representatives are to cochair the first meeting of the US-China economic and trade consultation mechanism, it said. US President Donald Trump on Friday announced that a new round of trade talks with China would start in London beginning today,
RSS