VIETNAM
Growth rate hits 7.38%
The economy grew at its fastest pace in a decade during the first quarter of the year, driven by a surge in electronics manufacturing and exports, data showed yesterday. The 7.38 percent expansion was sharply up from the rate of about 5 percent seen in the first quarter of last year, the Government Statistics Office said, and well above the government’s annual target of 6.7 percent. The figures are the best since a 7.4 percent growth reading in January to March 2008.
JAPAN
Declining retail sales rebound
Retail sales rebounded last month following a sharp decline a month earlier, with the increase being driven mostly by higher prices, particularly for energy and vegetables. The latest government data showed that retail sales rose 0.4 percent from January, compared with analysts’ forecast of 0.6 percent growth. Retail sales increased 1.6 percent from a year ago, with sales at department stores and supermarkets advancing 0.6 percent year-on-year, the data showed.
UNITED KINGDOM
House price momentum fades
House prices this month rose at the slowest pace in seven months, adding to signs of fading momentum in the market, mortgage lender Nationwide said yesterday. House prices rose 2.1 percent in the year to this month, weaker than all forecasts in a Reuters poll of economists that had pointed to growth of 2.6 percent and slowing from a 2.2 percent increase last month. Prices fell on the month by 0.2 percent, following a 0.4 percent drop last month — again undercutting all forecasts in the Reuters poll that had pointed to growth of 0.2 percent.
UNITED STATES
Spending spurs GDP growth
The economy grew significantly faster at the end of last year than previously reported, as consumer spending hit a three-year high and business investment rose, the government reported on Wednesday. GDP grew 2.9 percent in the final three months of last year, 0.4 points higher than a previous estimate, the US Department of Commerce said. The growth rate for all of last year was unchanged at a modest 2.3 percent, although faster than the 1.5 percent posted in 2016.
THAILAND
Virtual currency rules coming
The nation is to impose rules on cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings from next month to bolster investor protection, the Securities and Exchange Commission said. The regulations are set to be enforced in about three weeks, commission Secretary General Rapee Sucharitakul said in an interview in Bangkok. Offerings of digital coins, as well as trading platforms, would fall under the regulatory framework, with more details to be unveiled once the legislation receives royal endorsement.
GERMANY
Unemployment down 88,000
Unemployment fell below 2.5 million this month amid a seasonable upswing. The Federal Labor Agency yesterday said the unadjusted rate fell to 5.5 percent from 5.7 percent last month, with the number of unemployed dropping by 88,000 to 2.46 million. Compared with the same month a year earlier, the number of people unemployed in Europe’s largest economy fell by 204,000. Adjusted for seasonal factors, the jobless rate fell 1 percentage point to 5.3 percent month-on-month. There were 778,000 vacancies this month, an increase of 86,000 from a year earlier, the agency said.
The Eurovision Song Contest has seen a surge in punter interest at the bookmakers, becoming a major betting event, experts said ahead of last night’s giant glamfest in Basel. “Eurovision has quietly become one of the biggest betting events of the year,” said Tomi Huttunen, senior manager of the Online Computer Finland (OCS) betting and casino platform. Betting sites have long been used to gauge which way voters might be leaning ahead of the world’s biggest televised live music event. However, bookmakers highlight a huge increase in engagement in recent years — and this year in particular. “We’ve already passed 2023’s total activity and
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) today announced that his company has selected "Beitou Shilin" in Taipei for its new Taiwan office, called Nvidia Constellation, putting an end to months of speculation. Industry sources have said that the tech giant has been eyeing the Beitou Shilin Science Park as the site of its new overseas headquarters, and speculated that the new headquarters would be built on two plots of land designated as "T17" and "T18," which span 3.89 hectares in the park. "I think it's time for us to reveal one of the largest products we've ever built," Huang said near the
China yesterday announced anti-dumping duties as high as 74.9 percent on imports of polyoxymethylene (POM) copolymers, a type of engineering plastic, from Taiwan, the US, the EU and Japan. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce’s findings conclude a probe launched in May last year, shortly after the US sharply increased tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, computer chips and other imports. POM copolymers can partially replace metals such as copper and zinc, and have various applications, including in auto parts, electronics and medical equipment, the Chinese ministry has said. In January, it said initial investigations had determined that dumping was taking place, and implemented preliminary
Intel Corp yesterday reinforced its determination to strengthen its partnerships with Taiwan’s ecosystem partners including original-electronic-manufacturing (OEM) companies such as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) and chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電). “Tonight marks a new beginning. We renew our new partnership with Taiwan ecosystem,” Intel new chief executive officer Tan Lip-bu (陳立武) said at a dinner with representatives from the company’s local partners, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the US chip giant’s presence in Taiwan. Tan took the reins at Intel six weeks ago aiming to reform the chipmaker and revive its past glory. This is the first time Tan
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