SHIPPING
FedEx, UPS up on tax hopes
FedEx Corp and United Parcel Service Inc (UPS) yesterday surged the most in more than a year on expectations that they will reap particularly big gains from the tax overhaul package making its way through the US Congress. Shipping companies like FedEx and UPS, as well as airlines and railroads, are especially well-positioned to benefit from a provision allowing them to expense capital equipment immediately, instead of over time. FedEx jumped 4.7 percent to US$241.63 at 1:31pm in New York after soaring as much as 5.3 percent, its biggest intraday gain since September last year. UPS gained as much as 4 percent, the most intraday gain since July 2015.
UNITED KINGDOM
New car registrations down
New car registrations dropped 5 percent in the year to date, putting them on track for the first annual fall since 2011, hit by weaker consumer confidence and uncertainty over the future of diesel, an industry body said yesterday. Sales slumped 11.2 percent last month to 163,541 cars, according to data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, with demand falling among business, fleet and individual buyers. Diesel has been particularly hit this year, with registrations declining 16.1 percent between January and last month, while gasoline rose 3.1 percent in the same period.
RETAIL
FamilyMart mulls HK sale
FamilyMart Uny Holdings Co, Japan’s second-largest convenience store operator, is considering a sale of its Hong Kong retail business, people with knowledge of the matter said. It is seeking to fetch close to US$100 million from any sale, one of the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private. Deliberations are at an early stage, and Tokyo-based FamilyMart Uny could decide to keep the business, the people said. In Hong Kong, FamilyMart Uny runs department stores targeting the territory’s affluent middle class. Sales in Hong Kong’s supermarket industry fell 0.1 percent in the first 10 months of the year, lagging the 1.2 percent gain in the territory’s overall retail industry, government statistics show.
TECHNOLOGY
Tencent shares decline
Shares of Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings Ltd (騰訊) yesterday fell for the fourth time in five sessions as angst over US technology stocks returned, widening the spread between its share price and analysts’ price targets to an unprecedented 19 percent. This is after US$55 billion in value was wiped out from its Nov. 21 high through Friday with global investors cashing in some of this year’s best equity performers. However, of the 40 stock watchers surveyed by Bloomberg, 98 percent maintain a “buy” rating on Tencent — that is the highest proportion ever.
AUSTRALIA
Interest rates unchanged
The central bank yesterday left interest rates at a record low, sparing the country a rude shock ahead of Christmas, as wage growth stagnates and household debt rises. The Reserve Bank slashed rates by 300 basis points to 1.5 percent between November 2011 and August last year. The decision to stand pat came a day before the release of July-to-September economic growth data, with economists forecasting 0.8 percent expansion quarter-on-quarter, lifting the annual rate to 3.1 percent. The Australian dollar edged up to 76.40 US cents after the announcement,from 76.30 US cents before.
Intel Corp chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武) is expected to meet with Taiwanese suppliers next month in conjunction with the opening of the Computex Taipei trade show, supply chain sources said on Monday. The visit, the first for Tan to Taiwan since assuming his new post last month, would be aimed at enhancing Intel’s ties with suppliers in Taiwan as he attempts to help turn around the struggling US chipmaker, the sources said. Tan is to hold a banquet to celebrate Intel’s 40-year presence in Taiwan before Computex opens on May 20 and invite dozens of Taiwanese suppliers to exchange views
Application-specific integrated circuit designer Faraday Technology Corp (智原) yesterday said that although revenue this quarter would decline 30 percent from last quarter, it retained its full-year forecast of revenue growth of 100 percent. The company attributed the quarterly drop to a slowdown in customers’ production of chips using Faraday’s advanced packaging technology. The company is still confident about its revenue growth this year, given its strong “design-win” — or the projects it won to help customers design their chips, Faraday president Steve Wang (王國雍) told an online earnings conference. “The design-win this year is better than we expected. We believe we will win
Chizuko Kimura has become the first female sushi chef in the world to win a Michelin star, fulfilling a promise she made to her dying husband to continue his legacy. The 54-year-old Japanese chef regained the Michelin star her late husband, Shunei Kimura, won three years ago for their Sushi Shunei restaurant in Paris. For Shunei Kimura, the star was a dream come true. However, the joy was short-lived. He died from cancer just three months later in June 2022. He was 65. The following year, the restaurant in the heart of Montmartre lost its star rating. Chizuko Kimura insisted that the new star is still down
While China’s leaders use their economic and political might to fight US President Donald Trump’s trade war “to the end,” its army of social media soldiers are embarking on a more humorous campaign online. Trump’s tariff blitz has seen Washington and Beijing impose eye-watering duties on imports from the other, fanning a standoff between the economic superpowers that has sparked global recession fears and sent markets into a tailspin. Trump says his policy is a response to years of being “ripped off” by other countries and aims to bring manufacturing to the US, forcing companies to employ US workers. However, China’s online warriors
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