MACROECONOMICS
RBI may turn hawkish
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) might become more vigilant on inflation as economic growth strengthens, increasing the risk of monetary tightening. The government on Wednesday raised its growth forecast for the year ending next month to 6.6 percent from the 6.5 percent it predicted in January. The economy expanded 7.2 percent last quarter from a year earlier, beating the 7 percent median estimate in a Bloomberg survey and the previous quarter’s 6.5 percent. Inflation accelerated to 5.21 percent in December last year before easing slightly in January.
MACROECONOMICS
US’ Q4 growth trimmed
US economic growth in the final three months of last year was revised down slightly to annual growth of 2.5 percent, as businesses spent less on investment and restocking shelves than the US Department of Commerce’s initial estimate of 2.6 percent. The fourth-quarter advance followed faster increases of 3.1 percent at a seasonally adjusted annual rate in the second quarter and 3.2 percent in the third quarter, the department reported on Wednesday.
ENERGY
Exxon drops Rosneft
Exxon Mobil Corp on Wednesday said it is abandoning joint ventures with Rosneft PJSC after international sanctions against Russia paralyzed a historic drilling project. Irving, Texas-based Exxon decided to exit the ventures late last year and said it would lead to an after-tax loss of US$200 million this year. The investment came to a standstill in 2014 after the Russian energy sector was targeted by US and EU sanctions amid conflicts in Crimea and Ukraine.
AUTOMAKERS
Peugeot posts record profits
French automaker PSA Peugeot Citroen yesterday said that its profits raced to new records last year even if its newly acquired Opel and Vauxhall brands weighed on earnings. The group said in a statement that its net profit rose 11.5 percent to a record 1.929 billion euros (US$2.4 billion), while operating profit climbed 23 percent to 3.991 billion euros and sales grew 20.7 percent to 65.2 billion euros.
BANKING
RBS may cut more jobs
Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBS) chief financial officer Ewen Stevenson signaled further job cuts in an interview, as Britain’s biggest government-owned lender accelerates its investment in technology. Stevenson said that restructuring costs of £2.5 billion (US$3.45 billion) announced last week were in part related to the disposal of properties and “data centers,” which are a legacy of the past. He did not give a target for potential job reductions at the company, which shut 259 branches in December last year, as customers increasingly access their accounts online.
RETAIL
Carrefour falls into red
Carrefour SA on Wednesday said it fell into a loss last year, as competition among retailers in France intensified, reinforcing the need to push forward with an overhaul it announced last month. Penalized by exceptional items, including costs related to an old chain of stores in France, the food and goods retailer said it suffered a net loss of 531 million euros. Sales rose 3 percent last year to 88.24 billion euros. However, on a like-for-like basis, the growth rate slid to 1.6 percent from 3 percent in 2016, Carrefour said.
SPEED OF LIGHT: US lawmakers urged the commerce department to examine the national security threats from China’s development of silicon photonics technology US President Joe Biden’s administration on Monday said it is finalizing rules that would limit US investments in artificial intelligence (AI) and other technology sectors in China that could threaten US national security. The rules, which were proposed in June by the US Department of the Treasury, were directed by an executive order signed by Biden in August last year covering three key sectors: semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum information technologies and certain AI systems. The rules are to take effect on Jan. 2 next year and would be overseen by the Treasury’s newly created Office of Global Transactions. The Treasury said the “narrow
SPECULATION: The central bank cut the loan-to-value ratio for mortgages on second homes by 10 percent and denied grace periods to prevent a real-estate bubble The central bank’s board members in September agreed to tighten lending terms to induce a soft landing in the housing market, although some raised doubts that they would achieve the intended effect, the meeting’s minutes released yesterday showed. The central bank on Sept. 18 introduced harsher loan restrictions for mortgages across Taiwan in the hope of curbing housing speculation and hoarding that could create a bubble and threaten the financial system’s stability. Toward the aim, it cut the loan-to-value ratio by 10 percent for second and subsequent home mortgages and denied grace periods for first mortgages if applicants already owned other residential
SPECIALIZIATION: OpenAI is designing a new type of semiconductor with Broadcom that would run artificial intelligence software and respond to user requests OpenAI is working with Broadcom Inc to develop a new artificial intelligence (AI) chip specifically focused on running AI models after they have been trained, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The AI start-up and chipmaker are also consulting with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest chip contract manufacturer, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private. OpenAI has been planning a custom chip and working on such uses for the technology for about a year, but the discussions are still at an early stage, the sources said. OpenAI declined
RAPID GROWTH: MediaTek said that it expects revenue from its flagship smartphone chip to grow by 70 percent, driven by demand for artificial intelligence applications Smartphone chip designer Media-Tek Inc (聯發科) yesterday said that it would perform better than the seasonal pattern with revenue forecast to grow 2 percent quarterly, thanks to robust demand for its new flagship smartphone chip that enables PC-like artificial intelligence (AI) features on phones. The strong demand for the new Dimensity 9400 chip this year prompted MediaTek to raise its flagship smartphone chip revenue growth to 70 percent year-on-year, up from of an earlier estimate of 50 percent growth. “For the fourth quarter, the strong ramp of Dimensity 9400 is expected to offset the lower seasonal demand for the mainstream