BRAZIL
Central bank cuts rate
The central bank on Wednesday cut its benchmark interest rate to a new record low of 4.25 percent, seeking to boost what it called the “gradual recovery” of Latin America’s largest economy. The quarter-point cut, in line with market expectations, was decided unanimously by the bank’s monetary policy committee, it said in a statement. It was the fifth straight decrease since July last year, but the bank indicated that the loosening cycle was coming to an end. The government is forecasting growth of 2.4 percent this year, double the estimate for last year.
INDIA
Rates left unchanged
The Reserve Bank of India yesterday left interest rates unchanged for a second straight meeting, as surging inflation kept policymakers from easing again to support economic growth. The repurchase rate was maintained at 5.15 percent, as forecast by all 37 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The six-member monetary policy committee voted unanimously on the decision, while retaining its accommodative stance, the bank said in a statement.
UNITED STATES
Trade deficit narrows
The nation’s trade deficit narrowed last year from the widest in a decade, reflecting plunges in shipments from China and oil imports. The annual deficit in goods and services decreased for the first time in six years, narrowing 1.7 percent to US$616.8 billion, Department of Commerce data showed on Wednesday. The gap in December last year rose to US$48.9 billion, wider than the median estimate of economists. Separately, the Institute for Supply Management on Wednesday said that its service-sector index edged up to 55.5 from 55 in December.
GERMANY
Eurozone demand slumps
New orders at industrial firms slid in December last year, official data showed yesterday, driven entirely by plunging demand from eurozone neighbors. Overall, new business for manufacturing firms fell back 2.1 percent month-on-month in seasonally adjusted figures, statistics authority Destatis said, disappointing analysts who had foreseen a 0.6 percent increase. A breakdown of the data showed that while domestic orders rose by 1.4 percent and those from non-EU nations gained 2.1 percent, eurozone demand tumbled 13.9 percent.
ENERGY
Gas contracts canceled
China’s biggest buyer of liquefied natural gas has told some suppliers that it would not take delivery of cargoes because of constraints caused by the 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak, a rare step that shows how deeply the epidemic is impacting global commodity flows. China National Offshore Oil Corp (中國海洋石油) has declared force majeure on some contracts, people with knowledge of the situation said. It sent the notice to firms including Royal Dutch Shell PLC and Total SA, the people added.
TELECOMS
Huawei files patent suits
Huawei Technologies Co (華為) has filed two patent infringement lawsuits against Verizon Communications Inc following an apparent failure to agree licensing terms for the use of its intellectual property. The Chinese firm said that it had reached out to Verizon a year ago, notifying the US carrier of its breach of multiple patents. Among the offending pieces of technology are network security measures, remote sharing from a PC, parental controls and a contacts app.
China’s economic planning agency yesterday outlined details of measures aimed at boosting the economy, but refrained from major spending initiatives. The piecemeal nature of the plans announced yesterday appeared to disappoint investors who were hoping for bolder moves, and the Shanghai Composite Index gave up a 10 percent initial gain as markets reopened after a weeklong holiday to end 4.59 percent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dived 9.41 percent. Chinese National Development and Reform Commission Chairman Zheng Shanjie (鄭珊潔) said the government would frontload 100 billion yuan (US$14.2 billion) in spending from the government’s budget for next year in addition
Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) suffered its biggest stock decline in more than a month after the company unveiled new artificial intelligence (AI) chips, but did not provide hoped-for information on customers or financial performance. The stock slid 4 percent to US$164.18 on Thursday, the biggest single-day drop since Sept. 3. Shares of the company remain up 11 percent this year. AMD has emerged as the biggest contender to Nvidia Corp in the lucrative market of AI processors. The company’s latest chips would exceed some capabilities of its rival, AMD chief executive officer Lisa Su (蘇姿丰) said at an event hosted by
AVIATION: Despite production issues in the US, the Taoyuan-based airline expects to receive 24 passenger planes on schedule, while one freight plane is delayed The ongoing strike at Boeing Co has had only a minor impact on China Airlines Ltd (CAL, 中華航空), although the delivery of a new cargo jet might be postponed, CAL chairman Hsieh Su-chien (謝世謙) said on Saturday. The 24 Boeing 787-9 passenger aircraft on order would be delivered on schedule from next year to 2028, while one 777F freight aircraft would be delayed, Hsieh told reporters at a company event. Boeing, which announced a decision on Friday to cut 17,000 jobs — about one-tenth of its workforce — is facing a strike by 33,000 US west coast workers that has halted production
TECH JUGGERNAUT: TSMC shares have more than doubled since ChatGPT’s launch in late 2022, as demand for cutting-edge artificial intelligence chips remains high Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday posted a better-than-expected 39 percent rise in quarterly revenue, assuaging concerns that artificial intelligence (AI) hardware spending is beginning to taper off. The main chipmaker for Nvidia Corp and Apple Inc reported third-quarter sales of NT$759.69 billion (US$23.6 billion), compared with the average analyst projection of NT$748 billion. For last month alone, TSMC reported revenue jumped 39.6 percent year-on-year to NT$251.87 billion. Taiwan’s largest company is to disclose its full third-quarter earnings on Thursday next week and update its outlook. Hsinchu-based TSMC produces the cutting-edge chips needed to train AI. The company now makes more
RSS