CHINA
Property market cools down
China’s home prices rose in fewer cities last month as the government persisted with an almost two-year campaign to cool the market. New home prices, excluding government-subsidized housing, climbed in 52 of 70 cities tracked, compared with 57 in December last year, the National Bureau of Statistics said Saturday. Prices fell in 13 cities from the previous month and were unchanged in five. Last month, Beijing’s new home prices rose 0.2 percent month-on-month, while Shanghai and Guangzhou prices fell 0.4 percent and the market in Shenzhen was unchanged, data showed.
RUSSIA
S&P raises debt rating
Standard and Poor’s (S&P) Global Ratings on Friday raised the nation’s sovereign debt rating a notch, saying that Moscow had shown fiscal restraint while managing international sanctions and falling commodity prices. The move to “BBB-” with a stable outlook coincided with Friday’s decision by Fitch to affirm its rating for Russia at “BBB-” as well, although with a positive outlook. The economy is expected to grow 1.8 percent this year, S&P said in a statement.
BRAZIL
Fitch downgrades debt
Fitch Ratings on Friday again cut the nation’s sovereign debt rating, sending it deeper into junk status after the government gave up on attempts to get approval for pension reforms. The long-term foreign currency issuer default rating was cut below investment grade, from “BB” to “BB-.” The rating outlook was revised from negative to stable, Fitch said in a statement.
GERMANY
Budget hits record surplus
The government saw a record budget surplus last year thanks to unbroken economic growth. The Federal Statistical Office on Friday said that public treasuries received 36.6 billion euros (US$45 billion) more than they spent last year. Strong export-driven growth has boosted tax revenue, with the nation’s GDP rising a further 0.6 percent in the fourth quarter of last year compared with the previous three months. Economists predict that Germany’s economy will grow 2.4 percent this year.
CARMAKERS
BMW recalls dirty diesels
BMW AG on Friday recalled 11,700 diesel cars for a software update, after reports it had admitted to authorities that they released more harmful emissions on the road than in the lab. BMW “noticed during internal testing that correctly programmed software was wrongly used in a few models that were not compatible,” the group said in a statement. “Niche motor variants of an already discontinued generation of the 5-series and 7-series built between 2012 and 2017” were affected, it said.
CONSUMER PRODUCTS
General Mills looks to pets
US food conglomerate General Mills Inc is adding dogs and cats to its portfolio, in an US$8 billion deal to acquire natural pet food company Blue Buffalo Co Ltd, the companies said on Friday. The maker of Cheerios cereal and home of the Pillsbury Doughboy said the acquisition gives the company a way into a growing US$30 billion market for pet food. The deal is expected to be finalized by late May, it said.
TECH PARTNERSHIP: The deal with Arizona-based Amkor would provide TSMC with advanced packing and test capacities, a requirement to serve US customers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is collaborating with Amkor Technology Inc to provide local advanced packaging and test capacities in Arizona to address customer requirements for geographical flexibility in chip manufacturing. As part of the agreement, TSMC, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, would contract turnkey advanced packaging and test services from Amkor at their planned facility in Peoria, Arizona, a joint statement released yesterday said. TSMC would leverage these services to support its customers, particularly those using TSMC’s advanced wafer fabrication facilities in Phoenix, Arizona, it said. The companies would jointly define the specific packaging technologies, such as TSMC’s Integrated
China’s economic planning agency yesterday outlined details of measures aimed at boosting the economy, but refrained from major spending initiatives. The piecemeal nature of the plans announced yesterday appeared to disappoint investors who were hoping for bolder moves, and the Shanghai Composite Index gave up a 10 percent initial gain as markets reopened after a weeklong holiday to end 4.59 percent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dived 9.41 percent. Chinese National Development and Reform Commission Chairman Zheng Shanjie (鄭珊潔) said the government would frontload 100 billion yuan (US$14.2 billion) in spending from the government’s budget for next year in addition
Sales RecORD: Hon Hai’s consolidated sales rose by about 20 percent last quarter, while Largan, another Apple supplier, saw quarterly sales increase by 17 percent IPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) on Saturday reported its highest-ever quarterly sales for the third quarter on the back of solid global demand for artificial intelligence (AI) servers. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) globally, said it posted NT$1.85 trillion (US$57.93 billion) in consolidated sales in the July-to-September quarter, up 19.46 percent from the previous quarter and up 20.15 percent from a year earlier. The figure beat the previous third-quarter high of NT$1.74 trillion recorded in 2022, company data showed. Due to rising demand for AI, Hon Hai said its cloud and networking division enjoyed strong sales
Protectionism: US trade chief Katherine Tai said the hikes would help to counter unfair trade practices from China, while boosting domestic clean energy investments US Trade Representative Katherine Tai (戴琪) defended stiff tariff hikes against countries such as China, saying that paired with investment, they were a “legitimate and constructive” tool for reinvigorating domestic industries. Tai’s comments come a week after sharp tariff increases on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs), EV batteries and solar cells took effect — with levies down the line on other products also recently finalized. The latest moves targeting US$18 billion in Chinese goods come weeks before next month’s US presidential election, with Democrats and Republicans pushing a hard line on China as competition between Washington and Beijing intensifies. In an interview on Thursday
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