Wed, Apr 05, 2017 page10

• World Business Quick Take

  • Agencies
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  AUTOMAKERS

  US car sales down

  Passenger car sales plummeted again last month, dragging US auto sales to their third straight monthly decline, a strong indication that years of sales growth have come to an end. Sales fell 1.6 percent to just over 1.55 million vehicles, surprising analysts who expected a small increase. However, the auto industry is not worried for now, as it is making solid money selling reams of SUVs and trucks to consumers who are loading up on expensive features, but some analysts see large inventories of cars as a looming problem. Car sales were down almost 11 percent, while truck and SUV sales rose 5.2 percent, according to Autodata Corp. Hyundai suffered the biggest decline at 8 percent, followed by Ford at 7.5 percent.

  AUSTRALIA

  Economy still on hold

  The nation kept interest rates unchanged, remaining in a form of policy paralysis as housing is too hot to allow an easing and the economy lacks the strength to absorb a tightening. Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Philip Lowe and his board left the cash rate at a record-low 1.5 percent yesterday, after Sydney property prices soared last month at the fastest annual pace in almost 15 years and unemployment climbed to its highest level since the beginning of last year. The decision was expected by all 29 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. “Recent data are consistent with ongoing moderate growth,” Lowe said in a statement. “Some indicators of conditions in the labor market have softened recently. In particular, the unemployment rate has moved a little higher and employment growth is modest.” Australia’s economy is in a holding pattern as growth fails to spur significant hiring, resulting in weak wages and subdued inflation.

  AUTOMAKERS

  Robo-taxi partnership forms

  Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler AG and supplier Robert Bosch GmbH are teaming up to develop self-driving cars in an alliance primarily aimed at accelerating the production of “robo-taxis.” The pact between the world’s largest maker of premium cars and the world’s largest automotive supplier forms a powerful counterweight to new industry players such as Uber and Didi, which are working on self-driving cars with a business model geared toward clients who want to use rather than own cars. The alliance, which marks an end to Daimler’s efforts to develop an autonomous car largely on its own, comes as tech companies and automakers such as BMW are forming rival strategic partnerships. Bosch is to develop software and algorithms needed for autonomous driving together with the Stuttgart-based automaker.

  GAMING

  Rakuten starts game division

  Rakuten Inc is betting on a future without apps. The e-commerce company unveiled Rakuten Games yesterday, seeking to deliver titles that do not have to be installed on phones or personal computers. The games can be played on Web browsers or within other apps, making it easier for users to play with each other without having to wait for new software to be loaded onto their devices. Titles based on Pacman and Space Invaders are among the 15 games available on the platform. Facebook Inc and Tencent Holdings Ltd (騰訊) have also embraced similar initiatives, seeking to keep users within their apps and services instead of venturing to app stores. Rakuten is aiming for a slice of revenue in the mobile gaming-app market, which made up 81 percent of total app sales of US$62 billion last year, according to App Annie.
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