JAPAN
Q2 growth less than forecast
The government has revised economic growth data for the April-to-June quarter, saying the growth had been slightly weaker than initially estimated. The Cabinet Office yesterday reported that real GDP — the total value of a nation’s goods and services — had grown at an annual rate of 1.3 percent during that period. That was slightly lower than the earlier estimate of 1.8 percent growth. The data showed that private demand had grown at a slower rate, but government investment had risen higher than the earlier estimate.
AUSTRALIA
Home-loan approvals spike
Mortgage approvals surged by the most in four years in July in the latest sign that back-to-back interest rate cuts are reviving a previously dormant property market. Home-loan approvals rose 4.2 percent, the biggest increase since June 2015 and almost triple economists’ forecasts, the Bureau of Statistics said yesterday. The data showed that mortgages to first-time home buyers rose for a fourth straight month. The value of loans to investors jumped 4.7 percent, the most since 2016, and soared 5.3 percent for owner-occupiers in the biggest leap since 2015.
GERMANY
Exports bounce back
Exports from Europe’s largest economy enjoyed an unexpected rebound in July, official data showed yesterday, making for a bright spot in the data amid signs of a looming recession. About 115.2 billion euros (US$127.1 billion) of goods were sold abroad, up 0.7 percent month-on-month and 3.8 percent year-on-year, federal statistics authority Destatis said in seasonally-adjusted figures. With imports down 1.5 percent month-on-month, at 93.7 billion euros, the country’s trade surplus reached 21.4 billion euros — up from 18.1 billion in June.
MEXICO
President proposes budget
President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s budget proposal for next year projects economic growth of 1.5 to 2.5 percent. The plan, presented on Sunday by Minister of Finance Arturo Herrera, calls for a primary surplus, which excludes debt interest payments, equal to 0.7 percent of GDP. It includes 86 billion pesos (US$4.4 billion) to help Petroleos Mexicanos, the state-owned oil company, and foresees oil output of 1.951 million barrels per day, with oil exports averaging US$49 a barrel.
INDIA
Auto sales plummet
Vehicle sales suffered their biggest monthly drop on record, as the slump in the country’s auto sector shows no sign of letting up. Deliveries slid 41 percent last month from a year earlier to 115,957 units, while sales of passenger vehicles including SUVs fell 32 percent, according to data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers yesterday. Truck and bus sales dropped 39 percent, and two-wheeler sales — a key indicator of demand in rural India — fell 22 percent to 1.5 million units.
AVIATION
Geely buys Volocopter stake
German “flying taxi” developer Volocopter yesterday said it had raised 50 million euros from investors including automaker Geely Holding Group (吉利控股集團), risking a revived debate about Chinese investments in EU firms. “The new funds will be used towards bringing the VoloCity aircraft to commercial launch within the next three years,” Volocopter said in a statement. The Financial Times reported that Geely’s stake in Volocopter would amount to about 10 percent of the firm.
BYPASSING CHINA TARIFFS: In the first five months of this year, Foxconn sent US$4.4bn of iPhones to the US from India, compared with US$3.7bn in the whole of last year Nearly all the iPhones exported by Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) from India went to the US between March and last month, customs data showed, far above last year’s average of 50 percent and a clear sign of Apple Inc’s efforts to bypass high US tariffs imposed on China. The numbers, being reported by Reuters for the first time, show that Apple has realigned its India exports to almost exclusively serve the US market, when previously the devices were more widely distributed to nations including the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. During March to last month, Foxconn, known as Hon Hai Precision Industry
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and the University of Tokyo (UTokyo) yesterday announced the launch of the TSMC-UTokyo Lab to promote advanced semiconductor research, education and talent development. The lab is TSMC’s first laboratory collaboration with a university outside Taiwan, the company said in a statement. The lab would leverage “the extensive knowledge, experience, and creativity” of both institutions, the company said. It is located in the Asano Section of UTokyo’s Hongo, Tokyo, campus and would be managed by UTokyo faculty, guided by directors from UTokyo and TSMC, the company said. TSMC began working with UTokyo in 2019, resulting in 21 research projects,
Ashton Hall’s morning routine involves dunking his head in iced Saratoga Spring Water. For the company that sells the bottled water — Hall’s brand of choice for drinking, brushing his teeth and submerging himself — that is fantastic news. “We’re so thankful to this incredible fitness influencer called Ashton Hall,” Saratoga owner Primo Brands Corp’s CEO Robbert Rietbroek said on an earnings call after Hall’s morning routine video went viral. “He really helped put our brand on the map.” Primo Brands, which was not affiliated with Hall when he made his video, is among the increasing number of companies benefiting from influencer
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) yesterday expressed a downbeat view about the prospects of humanoid robots, given high manufacturing costs and a lack of target customers. Despite rising demand and high expectations for humanoid robots, high research-and-development costs and uncertain profitability remain major concerns, Lam told reporters following the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Taoyuan. “Since it seems a bit unworthy to use such high-cost robots to do household chores, I believe robots designed for specific purposes would be more valuable and present a better business opportunity,” Lam said Instead of investing in humanoid robots, Quanta has opted to invest
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