EUROZONE
ECB considers rate hike
European Central Bank (ECB) policymakers are forming a consensus around increasing interest rates in the third quarter of the year to tackle record inflation, people familiar with the matter said. The first hike in borrowing costs in more than a decade is expected to be by 25 basis points, they said, asking not to be identified because the deliberations are private. Earlier on Thursday, the bank reiterated a plan to end asset purchases next quarter, although it declined to specify a precise end-date. Exiting bond-buying is a precondition for raising rates, which could follow “anywhere between a week to several months” after, bank President Christine Lagarde said. Several policymakers called for an earlier end to bond-buying, the officials said. Ultimately, the Governing Council agreed unanimously on Thursday’s statement, they said.
JAPAN
Strong inflation expected
Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Haruhiko Kuroda faces another awkward communications challenge later this month when the central bank is poised to predict the strongest annual inflation since 1992 outside tax hike years. The bank would probably raise its projection for growth in key consumer prices to between 1.5 and 1.9 percent for the year started this month, compared with a 1.1 percent forecast in January, people familiar with the matter said. With global central banks accelerating interest rate hikes to tackle inflation, Kuroda would have the task of explaining why he is insisting on staying wedded to stimulus when the BOJ effectively sees price growth at the fastest pace in decades. Economists see the bank forecasting well beyond the 1.2 percent level that marks the strongest price gains in 30 years after excluding the impact of sales tax increases in 1997, 2014 and 2019.
LABOR
Argentina to meet truckers
Argentina’s truckers and government officials on Thursday agreed to have a virtual meeting to reach an agreement to end a protest by truck owners demanding higher freight rates. Grain truckers, which move up to 85 percent of the country’s grains to ports, have been protesting since Monday, which could soon effect grain shipments from one of the world’s largest food exporters. Talks to end the strike on Wednesday failed to make a breakthrough. Argentina is the world’s No. 1 exporter of processed soy oil and meal, and the No. 2 for corn. The Federation of Argentine Transporters, which represents the truckers, is demanding an increase in grain transport rates to offset rising fuel prices in the past weeks. Retail prices in the southern country rose by 6.7 percent in March, accumulating an increase of 55.1 percent in the past 12 months.
AUTOMAKERS
California wants more EVs
California wants electric vehicle (EV) sales to triple in the next four years to 35 percent of all new vehicle purchases, an aggressive target set as part of the goal to phase out the sale of gasoline-powered vehicles by the middle of next decade. The California Air Resources Board’s proposal would slowly raise the sale of new vehicles that are electric, hydrogen-powered or plug-in hybrids to 100 percent by 2035. About 11 percent of all new passenger car sales in the US are in California, giving the state significant influence over the auto market. Its rules would require 35 percent of new vehicles sales for model year 2026 to be zero-emission vehicles, including battery or hydrogen powered, or plug-in electric hybrids.
KEEPING UP: The acquisition of a cleanroom in Taiwan would enable Micron to increase production in a market where demand continues to outpace supply, a Micron official said Micron Technology Inc has signed a letter of intent to buy a fabrication site in Taiwan from Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電) for US$1.8 billion to expand its production of memory chips. Micron would take control of the P5 site in Miaoli County’s Tongluo Township (銅鑼) and plans to ramp up DRAM production in phases after the transaction closes in the second quarter, the company said in a statement on Saturday. The acquisition includes an existing 12 inch fab cleanroom of 27,871m2 and would further position Micron to address growing global demand for memory solutions, the company said. Micron expects the transaction to
Vincent Wei led fellow Singaporean farmers around an empty Malaysian plot, laying out plans for a greenhouse and rows of leafy vegetables. What he pitched was not just space for crops, but a lifeline for growers struggling to make ends meet in a city-state with high prices and little vacant land. The future agriculture hub is part of a joint special economic zone launched last year by the two neighbors, expected to cost US$123 million and produce 10,000 tonnes of fresh produce annually. It is attracting Singaporean farmers with promises of cheaper land, labor and energy just over the border.
US actor Matthew McConaughey has filed recordings of his image and voice with US patent authorities to protect them from unauthorized usage by artificial intelligence (AI) platforms, a representative said earlier this week. Several video clips and audio recordings were registered by the commercial arm of the Just Keep Livin’ Foundation, a non-profit created by the Oscar-winning actor and his wife, Camila, according to the US Patent and Trademark Office database. Many artists are increasingly concerned about the uncontrolled use of their image via generative AI since the rollout of ChatGPT and other AI-powered tools. Several US states have adopted
A proposed billionaires’ tax in California has ignited a political uproar in Silicon Valley, with tech titans threatening to leave the state while California Governor Gavin Newsom of the Democratic Party maneuvers to defeat a levy that he fears would lead to an exodus of wealth. A technology mecca, California has more billionaires than any other US state — a few hundred, by some estimates. About half its personal income tax revenue, a financial backbone in the nearly US$350 billion budget, comes from the top 1 percent of earners. A large healthcare union is attempting to place a proposal before
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