TRADE
Chinese actions costly: US
China’s “unfair trade practices” have cost the US hundreds of billions of dollars, the US Trade Representative (USTR) and Department of the Treasury said in a statement rebuking Beijing for the stalemate in negotiations. The statement, seen Tuesday on the USTR’s Web site, did not include any new actions against Chin, but it said the US was “disappointed” by a report Beijing issued over the weekend defending its stance and accusing US officials of backsliding in the talks. The statement accused Beijing of playing a “blame game” and misconstruing the nature and background of the trade dispute.
AUTOMAKERS
Diess meets Lighthizer
Volkswagen AG (VW) chief executive Herbert Diess on Monday with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, a week before new tariffs are set to hit imported Mexican vehicles, two people briefed on the matter said. Mexican made vehicles accounted for nearly half of Volkswagen’s US sales last year. “We believe that tariffs of this kind are a tax on the US consumer and will result in higher prices and also threaten job growth,” VW said in a statement on Monday. The company “has made significant long-term investments in the United States that would be impaired by restrictive changes to trade,” it added.
INVESTMENT
New funding for TrueLayer
Chinese technology giant Tencent Holdings Ltd (騰訊) and Singapore government-owned fund Temasek said they would invest US$35 million in London-based TrueLayer. The three-year-old fintech start-up sells open-banking software, which lets people share or aggregate their financial information from different providers. Including the new money, TrueLayer has raised US$47 million to date, it said in a statement yesterday. A valuation was not disclosed.
FRANCE
IMF warns Paris over debt
The IMF on Monday warned France that its public debt is “too high for comfort,” calling on the nation to tackle the issue by stepping up spending reforms. In a report outlining preliminary findings of this year’s mission, the IMF said tax and labor market reforms had helped keep the economy resilient despite slowing growth, but it urged the government to find further ways to curb spending and to ensure the measures have public support.
INVESTMENT
GIC holds Julius Baer stake
Singapore has built up a stake of about 3 percent in Julius Baer Group AG, providing a major boost for the wealth manager in the midst of an aggressive push in Asia. The acquisition made through wealth fund GIC Pte Ltd is likely to come as a relief for chief executive officer Bernhard Hodler after Julius Baer’s stock fell the most among Switzerland’s biggest companies last year.
RETAIL
Record drop in UK sales
UK retail sales declined by the most on record last month, reinforcing a gloomy picture for the industry that’s seen a number of high-profile businesses run into trouble. Industry figures show total sales fell 2.7 percent from a year earlier, the biggest drop since at least 1995, excluding Easter distortions. While some of the drop relates to strong figures a year earlier, a royal wedding and the buildup to the football World Cup, political and economic uncertainty also played a significant role, the British Retail Consortium said.
PROTECTIONISM: China hopes to help domestic chipmakers gain more market share while preparing local tech companies for the possibility of more US sanctions Beijing is stepping up pressure on Chinese companies to buy locally produced artificial intelligence (AI) chips instead of Nvidia Corp products, part of the nation’s effort to expand its semiconductor industry and counter US sanctions. Chinese regulators have been discouraging companies from purchasing Nvidia’s H20 chips, which are used to develop and run AI models, sources familiar with the matter said. The policy has taken the form of guidance rather than an outright ban, as Beijing wants to avoid handicapping its own AI start-ups and escalating tensions with the US, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the
FALLING BEHIND: Samsung shares have declined more than 20 percent this year, as the world’s largest chipmaker struggles in key markets and plays catch-up to rival SK Hynix Samsung Electronics Co is laying off workers in Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand as part of a plan to reduce its global headcount by thousands of jobs, sources familiar with the situation said. The layoffs could affect about 10 percent of its workforces in those markets, although the numbers for each subsidiary might vary, said one of the sources, who asked not to be named because the matter is private. Job cuts are planned for other overseas subsidiaries and could reach 10 percent in certain markets, the source said. The South Korean company has about 147,000 in staff overseas, more than half
Taipei is today suspending its US$2.5 trillion stock market as Super Typhoon Krathon approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed-income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Yesterday, schools and offices were closed in several cities and counties in southern and eastern Taiwan, including in the key industrial port city of Kaohsiung. Taiwan, which started canceling flights, ship sailings and some train services earlier this week, has wind and rain advisories in place for much of the island. It regularly experiences typhoons, and in July shut offices and schools as
CHEMICAL FIRE: 10 Indian employees were injured by smoke inhalation at a Tata Electronics plant in Tamil Nadu state that produces components for Apple Inc At least 10 people received medical treatment, with two hospitalized after a major fire on Saturday disrupted production at a key Tata Electronics Pvt Ltd plant in southern India that makes Apple Inc’s iPhone components. The fire occurred at the plant in the city of Hosur in Tamil Nadu state that makes some iPhone components. It broke out near another building inside the Tata complex, which was to begin producing complete iPhones in the coming months. The fire was contained to one building and has been extinguished fully, top district administrative official K.M. Sarayu said. No decision has been made on when
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