AUTOMAKERS
Japanese report sharp drops
Toyota Motor Corp and other Japanese automakers yesterday reported steep drops in output last month as the COVID-19 outbreak accelerated worldwide. Toyota reported that its global production fell 13.8 percent from a year earlier. Worldwide production for the Toyota Group, which includes Daihatsu Motor Co and Hino Motors Ltd, declined 12.2 percent to 762,802 units, it said. Nissan Motor Co’s production fell 29 percent to 270,073 units. Honda Motor Co’s global production dropped 26 percent to 289,255 units, the seventh straight month of declining output.
AUTOMAKERS
Renault halting production
French carmaker Renault SA yesterday said production at all its plants across the world had been halted due to the impact of the pandemic, apart from those in China and South Korea. “The group plans to restart production activities in the countries concerned as soon as conditions permit and will implement appropriate measures to respond effectively to commercial demand,” it said.
GREECE
Aid measures announced
The government yesterday announced new tax breaks and economic assistance to thousands of businesses and workers to buffer its economy from a national lockdown. The economy is expected to contract by 3 percent this year due to the spread of coronavirus, government estimates showed. The support measures include a one-off benefit for 1.7 million, or 81 percent of private-sector workers whose jobs are temporarily suspended and payment of their social security contributions for 45 days.
AUSTRALIA
Deep recession forecast
The nation’s economy is poised for its deepest recession in 90 years as restrictions designed to mitigate the spread of coronavirus push firms and households to the brink, Bloomberg Economic said yesterday. GDP would decline by about 10 percent in the first quarter before a gradual recovery in the final three months, James McIntyre, Australia economist at Bloomberg Economics, wrote in a report yesterday. He does not expect a return to pre-coronavirus level of activity for three years.
NORWAY
More bond issuances set
The central bank yesterday said it has increased its planned issuance of government bonds this year to between 70 billion and 85 billion Norwegian kroner (US$6.68 billion to US$8.11 billion) from an original plan of 55 billion kroner. The unusual revision follows Oslo’s decision to offer loans worth tens of billions of kroner in emergency funding to firms hurt by the coronavirus outbreak. In total, Norges Bank now aims to conduct 19 bond auctions this year, up from its planned 15. The number of Treasury bill auctions would be raised to 20 to 23.
FINANCIAL SERVICES
Finablr loses auditor
UK-based Finablr yesterday said that Ernst & Young LLP has resigned as its auditor after it could not accommodate some of the requested adjustments on time that included changes to the composition of its board. Finablr, which owns Travelex, had said earlier this month that it was preparing for potential insolvency, while operations of its unit in the United Arab Emirates were seized by that nation’s central bank. Its problems started when US shortseller Muddy Waters took aim at NMC Health, which shares the same founder as Finablr — BR Shetty.
Intel Corp chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武) is expected to meet with Taiwanese suppliers next month in conjunction with the opening of the Computex Taipei trade show, supply chain sources said on Monday. The visit, the first for Tan to Taiwan since assuming his new post last month, would be aimed at enhancing Intel’s ties with suppliers in Taiwan as he attempts to help turn around the struggling US chipmaker, the sources said. Tan is to hold a banquet to celebrate Intel’s 40-year presence in Taiwan before Computex opens on May 20 and invite dozens of Taiwanese suppliers to exchange views
Application-specific integrated circuit designer Faraday Technology Corp (智原) yesterday said that although revenue this quarter would decline 30 percent from last quarter, it retained its full-year forecast of revenue growth of 100 percent. The company attributed the quarterly drop to a slowdown in customers’ production of chips using Faraday’s advanced packaging technology. The company is still confident about its revenue growth this year, given its strong “design-win” — or the projects it won to help customers design their chips, Faraday president Steve Wang (王國雍) told an online earnings conference. “The design-win this year is better than we expected. We believe we will win
Chizuko Kimura has become the first female sushi chef in the world to win a Michelin star, fulfilling a promise she made to her dying husband to continue his legacy. The 54-year-old Japanese chef regained the Michelin star her late husband, Shunei Kimura, won three years ago for their Sushi Shunei restaurant in Paris. For Shunei Kimura, the star was a dream come true. However, the joy was short-lived. He died from cancer just three months later in June 2022. He was 65. The following year, the restaurant in the heart of Montmartre lost its star rating. Chizuko Kimura insisted that the new star is still down
While China’s leaders use their economic and political might to fight US President Donald Trump’s trade war “to the end,” its army of social media soldiers are embarking on a more humorous campaign online. Trump’s tariff blitz has seen Washington and Beijing impose eye-watering duties on imports from the other, fanning a standoff between the economic superpowers that has sparked global recession fears and sent markets into a tailspin. Trump says his policy is a response to years of being “ripped off” by other countries and aims to bring manufacturing to the US, forcing companies to employ US workers. However, China’s online warriors
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