GREECE
Moody’s raises rating
Credit ratings agency Moody’s on Friday raised Greece’s long-term issuer rating to “Caa2” from “Caa3” after eurozone governments extended a credit lifeline to the nation. Moody’s also changed its outlook to “positive,” up from “stable,” saying it saw signs that the heavily indebted nation’s economy was stabilizing. Moody’s said it expected Greece’s debt ratio to stabilize this year at 179 percent of GDP, adding that growth should return to the economy this year and next. Greece returned to growth in the first quarter, with a 0.4 percent increase in GDP, according to figures revised upward early this month.
RETAIL
Sears axes 20 more stores
Sears Holdings Corp is closing another 20 stores as the ailing retailer tries to turn around its business. Real-estate investment trust Seritage, which owns the 20 properties, confirmed the closings — 18 Sears stores and two Kmart stores — in a government filing on Friday. In 2015, Sears sold 235 Sears and Kmart store locations to Seritage as part of an agreement in which Sears leases the stores back from the real-estate company. Under the agreement with Seritage, if a store is unprofitable, Sears has the option to exit the lease by making a payment equal to one year’s rent. Sears said the stores will close in mid-September. Liquidation sales are to begin by the end of the month.
NIGERIA
Tax evaders get 2nd chance
The nation hopes to raise at least US$1 billion from a scheme that would give tax evaders a chance to make payments retrospectively, the Ministry of Finance said on Friday. The OPEC member is in the second year of a recession brought on by low oil prices. Crude sales make up two-thirds of national revenue and the government is seeking to boost its income from non-oil sources. The ministry said a scheme would be launched on Thursday to give evaders immunity from prosecution, penalty charges and interest if they “regularize their tax status” between Saturday and Dec. 31.
TECHNOLOGY
BlackBerry revenue weak
BlackBerry Ltd on Friday released its quarterly earnings report, which showed surprisingly weak revenue from software, marring what was otherwise shaping up to be a banner year. The Canadian company, which exited the hardware business last year, missed analysts’ estimates for total revenue, the majority of which is now made up of software sales. Revenue excluding some costs was US$244 million in the fiscal first quarter compared with the average analyst estimate of US$265.4 million. BlackBerry shares fell as much as much as 13 percent to US$9.65 in New York, the biggest decline since January 2015.
GROCERIES
Walmart will not bid
Amazon.com Inc’s path to acquiring Whole Foods Market Inc looks clear. Wal-Mart Stores Inc, one of the few retailers with the resources to mount a counteroffer, does not plan to make a Whole Foods bid, a person with knowledge of the matter said. That leaves Amazon with few likely rivals after its US$13.7 billion deal on Friday last week to buy the organic grocer. Amazon is paying US$42 a share in cash for Whole Foods, a 27 percent premium to the stock price before the transaction was announced.
Hypermarket chain Carrefour Taiwan and upscale supermarket chain Mia C’bon on Saturday announced the suspension of their partnership with Jkopay Co (街口支付), one of Taiwan’s largest digital payment providers, amid a lawsuit involving its parent company. Carrefour and Mia C’bon said they would notify customers once Jkopay services are reinstated. The two retailers joined an array of other firms in suspending their partnerships with Jkopay. On Friday night, popular beverage chain TP Tea (茶湯會) also suspended its use of the platform, urging customers to opt for alternative payment methods. Another drinks brand, Guiji (龜記), on Friday said that it is up to individual
UNCERTAINTIES: Exports surged 34.1% and private investment grew 7.03% to outpace expectations in the first half, although US tariffs could stall momentum The Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) yesterday raised its GDP growth forecast to 3.05 percent this year on a robust first-half performance, but warned that US tariff threats and external uncertainty could stall momentum in the second half of the year. “The first half proved exceptionally strong, allowing room for optimism,” CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) said. “But the growth momentum may slow moving forward due to US tariffs.” The tariff threat poses definite downside risks, although the scale of the impact remains unclear given the unpredictability of US President Donald Trump’s policies, Lien said. Despite the headwinds, Taiwan is likely
READY TO BUY: Shortly after Nvidia announced the approval, Chinese firms scrambled to order the H20 GPUs, which the company must send to the US government for approval Nvidia Corp chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) late on Monday said the technology giant has won approval from US President Donald Trump’s administration to sell its advanced H20 graphics processing units (GPUs) used to develop artificial intelligence (AI) to China. The news came in a company blog post late on Monday and Huang also spoke about the coup on China’s state-run China Global Television Network in remarks shown on X. “The US government has assured Nvidia that licenses will be granted, and Nvidia hopes to start deliveries soon,” the post said. “Today, I’m announcing that the US government has approved for us
The National Stabilization Fund (NSF, 國安基金) is to continue supporting local shares, as uncertainties in international politics and the economy could affect Taiwanese industries’ global deployment and corporate profits, as well as affect stock movement and investor confidence, the Ministry of Finance said in a statement yesterday. The NT$500 billion (US$17.1 billion) fund would remain active in the stock market as the US’ tariff measures have not yet been fully finalized, which would drive international capital flows and global supply chain restructuring, the ministry said after the a meeting of the fund’s steering committee. Along with ongoing geopolitical risks and an unfavorable
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