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.
MULTIFACETED: A task force has analyzed possible scenarios and created responses to assist domestic industries in dealing with US tariffs, the economics minister said The Executive Yuan is tomorrow to announce countermeasures to US President Donald Trump’s planned reciprocal tariffs, although the details of the plan would not be made public until Monday next week, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. The Cabinet established an economic and trade task force in November last year to deal with US trade and tariff related issues, Kuo told reporters outside the legislature in Taipei. The task force has been analyzing and evaluating all kinds of scenarios to identify suitable responses and determine how best to assist domestic industries in managing the effects of Trump’s tariffs, he
TIGHT-LIPPED: UMC said it had no merger plans at the moment, after Nikkei Asia reported that the firm and GlobalFoundries were considering restarting merger talks United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電), the world’s No. 4 contract chipmaker, yesterday launched a new US$5 billion 12-inch chip factory in Singapore as part of its latest effort to diversify its manufacturing footprint amid growing geopolitical risks. The new factory, adjacent to UMC’s existing Singapore fab in the Pasir Res Wafer Fab Park, is scheduled to enter volume production next year, utilizing mature 22-nanometer and 28-nanometer process technologies, UMC said in a statement. The company plans to invest US$5 billion during the first phase of the new fab, which would have an installed capacity of 30,000 12-inch wafers per month, it said. The
Taiwan’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) last month rose 0.2 percentage points to 54.2, in a second consecutive month of expansion, thanks to front-loading demand intended to avoid potential US tariff hikes, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. While short-term demand appeared robust, uncertainties rose due to US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable trade policy, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s economy this year would be characterized by high-level fluctuations and the volatility would be wilder than most expect, Lien said Demand for electronics, particularly semiconductors, continues to benefit from US technology giants’ effort
‘SWASTICAR’: Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s close association with Donald Trump has prompted opponents to brand him a ‘Nazi’ and resulted in a dramatic drop in sales Demonstrators descended on Tesla Inc dealerships across the US, and in Europe and Canada on Saturday to protest company chief Elon Musk, who has amassed extraordinary power as a top adviser to US President Donald Trump. Waving signs with messages such as “Musk is stealing our money” and “Reclaim our country,” the protests largely took place peacefully following fiery episodes of vandalism on Tesla vehicles, dealerships and other facilities in recent weeks that US officials have denounced as terrorism. Hundreds rallied on Saturday outside the Tesla dealership in Manhattan. Some blasted Musk, the world’s richest man, while others demanded the shuttering of his
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