GERMANY
Consumer confidence robust
Confidence among consumers should resist fears of a trade war between Washington and Brussels next month, a survey published yesterday showed. A forward-looking barometer by pollsters GfK stood at 10.7 points for next month, the same level as this month and 0.1 points lower than last month. However, there are signs that Europe’s largest economy has lost momentum since the unexpectedly strong growth seen late last year.
NEW ZEALAND
Low interest rate maintained
The New Zealand Reserve Bank yesterday held interest rates at a record low, but signaled it is prepared to cut them if needed as economic growth slows and inflation remains below target. “The official cash rate will remain at 1.75 percent for now,” bank Governor Adrian Orr said in a statement in Wellington. “However, we are well positioned to manage change in either direction — up or down — as necessary.”
RETAIL
Japanese sales fell in May
Japanese retail sales fell last month by the most in nearly two years, pointing to weaker consumption that could restrain any rebound in the economy following a contraction in the first quarter. Retail sales fell 1.7 percent last month from April, but increased 0.6 percent from a year earlier, government data showed. Sales at department stores and supermarkets fell 2 percent from the previous year. Sales of automobiles fell 2.8 percent from a year earlier, while clothing and apparel sales dropped 4.1 percent on year.
ELECTRIC VEHICLES
BP to buy charging network
BP PLC plans to acquire the UK’s largest electric vehicle charging company, the latest in a string of acquisitions by major oil companies in the growing market for greener transport. The British oil major entered into an agreement to buy Chargemaster, which has 6,500 charging points across the UK. It did not disclose terms of the deal, but BP has previously said it plans to spend about US$500 million a year on clean energy. Customers will see the new chargers in its forecourts over the next 12 months.
RETAIL
H&M profits disappoint
Hennes & Mauritz AB (H&M) reported profit that missed analyst expectations and said that its inventory levels increased further as the Swedish retailer suffered from logistics issues that snarled shipments. Pretax profit slumped 22 percent to 6.01 billion kronor (US$666.7 million) in the three months through last month, H&M said yesterday. “The first half of the year has been somewhat more challenging than we initially thought, but we believe that there is a gradual improvement and that we will see a stronger second half,” chief executive Karl-Johan Persson said.
ENERGY
Togo launches new policy
The Togolese government on Wednesday launched a new energy policy that aims to provide universal access to electricity in the small West African country by 2030. The “electrification strategy,” which relies heavily on renewable energy, is to unroll in three phases over 12 years and cost 1,000 billion CFA francs (US$1.76 billion), of which half will come from private investment. African Development Bank Vice President Amadou Hott said that the bank pledged 20 billion CFA francs to finance private operators.
EXTRATERRITORIAL REACH: China extended its legal jurisdiction to ban some dual-use goods of Chinese origin from being sold to the US, even by third countries Beijing has set out to extend its domestic laws across international borders with a ban on selling some goods to the US that applies to companies both inside and outside China. The new export control rules are China’s first attempt to replicate the extraterritorial reach of US and European sanctions by covering Chinese products or goods with Chinese parts in them. In an announcement this week, China declared it is banning the sale of dual-use items to the US military and also the export to the US of materials such as gallium and germanium. Companies and people overseas would be subject to
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) founder Morris Chang (張忠謀) yesterday said that Intel Corp would find itself in the same predicament as it did four years ago if its board does not come up with a core business strategy. Chang made the remarks in response to reporters’ questions about the ailing US chipmaker, once an archrival of TSMC, during a news conference in Taipei for the launch of the second volume of his autobiography. Intel unexpectedly announced the immediate retirement of former chief executive officer Pat Gelsinger last week, ending his nearly four-year tenure and ending his attempts to revive the
WORLD DOMINATION: TSMC’s lead over second-placed Samsung has grown as the latter faces increased Chinese competition and the end of clients’ product life cycles Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) retained the No. 1 title in the global pure-play wafer foundry business in the third quarter of this year, seeing its market share growing to 64.9 percent to leave South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co, the No. 2 supplier, further behind, Taipei-based TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said in a report. TSMC posted US$23.53 billion in sales in the July-September period, up 13.0 percent from a quarter earlier, which boosted its market share to 64.9 percent, up from 62.3 percent in the second quarter, the report issued on Monday last week showed. TSMC benefited from the debut of flagship
TENSE TIMES: Formosa Plastics sees uncertainty surrounding the incoming Trump administration in the US, geopolitical tensions and China’s faltering economy Formosa Plastics Group (台塑集團), Taiwan’s largest industrial conglomerate, yesterday posted overall revenue of NT$118.61 billion (US$3.66 billion) for last month, marking a 7.2 percent rise from October, but a 2.5 percent fall from one year earlier. The group has mixed views about its business outlook for the current quarter and beyond, as uncertainty builds over the US power transition and geopolitical tensions. Formosa Plastics Corp (台灣塑膠), a vertically integrated supplier of plastic resins and petrochemicals, reported a monthly uptick of 15.3 percent in its revenue to NT$18.15 billion, as Typhoon Kong-rey postponed partial shipments slated for October and last month, it said. The
RSS