EUROPE
Inflation hits all-time high
Eurozone inflation climbed to another all-time high, supporting calls for the Central Bank to follow up its first interest rate increase since 2011 with another big move. Consumer prices so far this month jumped 8.9 percent from a year earlier — up from 8.6 percent last month and driven once again by soaring energy and food costs. The number overshot the expectations of economists surveyed by Bloomberg, who saw a gain of 8.7 percent. After slowing last month, a gauge of underlying inflation that excludes energy and food also hit a record of 4 percent. The intensifying price pressures prompted the Central Bank to surprise economists by delivering a half-point increase in its deposit rate this month.
ELECTRONICS
Sony downgrades outlook
Sony Group Corp downgraded its profit outlook for the fiscal year, with its PlayStation division expected to contribute less than previously forecast. The Tokyo-based entertainment conglomerate yesterday said that it now expects ￥1.11 trillion (US$8.3 billion) in operating profit, down from ￥1.16 trillion previously. The gaming and network services group, which houses the PlayStation business, accounted for the full revision, which was down from ￥305 billion to ￥255 billion. Sony cited costs related to its acquisition of Bungie Inc and lower expectations for third-party software sales on the platform as reason for the change. Sony’s second-quarter operating profit beat estimates, coming in at ￥307 billion, higher than the average analyst estimate of ￥286.7 billion. The outlook downgrade came after Sony’s hardware production was limited by supply chain bottlenecks exacerbated by COVID-19 lockdowns in China.
TECHNOLOGY
Smartphone shipments fall
Global smartphone shipments last quarter fell to their lowest in two years after consumer confidence was sapped by inflation and recession fears. The quarter saw a 9 percent drop to about 290 million units shipped, market trackers Canalys and Counterpoint said, with Chinese vendors leading the declines. Market leader Samsung Electronics Co retained the top spot with about 62 million units, while Apple Inc held second, followed by Xiaomi Corp (小米), Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Corp (歐珀) and Vivo Communication Technology Co (維沃). The Chinese trio each registered double-digit percentage drops in shipments, with Xiaomi down 25 percent. Prolonged COVID-19 lockdowns in Shanghai and Beijing took a toll on domestic sales in China, while the wider market is now challenged by a glut of lower-priced devices and reluctant consumers, the analysts said.
UNITED STATES
Economy contracts in Q2
The economy contracted for a second straight quarter between April and last month, official data released on Thursday showed, adding fuel to recession fears and creating a headache for President Joe Biden ahead of midterm elections. GDP declined at an annual rate of 0.9 percent in the second quarter, following a bigger drop in the first three months of the year, the Department of Commerce said. Biden said the economy is “on the right path,” despite the slowdown, touting the strong labor market. After a 1.6 percent decline in the first quarter, the report said the slowdown in the second quarter was largely due to drops in government spending and private spending in vehicles and housing, despite an increase in exports. Personal consumption expenditures continued to rise, although slower than in the previous quarter, the data showed.
Anna Bhobho, a 31-year-old housewife from rural Zimbabwe, was once a silent observer in her home, excluded from financial and family decisionmaking in the deeply patriarchal society. Today, she is a driver of change in her village, thanks to an electric tricycle she owns. In many parts of rural sub-Saharan Africa, women have long been excluded from mainstream economic activities such as operating public transportation. However, three-wheelers powered by green energy are reversing that trend, offering financial opportunities and a newfound sense of importance. “My husband now looks up to me to take care of a large chunk of expenses,
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday signed a letter of intent with Alaska Gasline Development Corp (AGDC), expressing an interest to buy liquefied natural gas (LNG) and invest in the latter’s Alaska LNG project, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a statement. Under the agreement, CPC is to participate in the project’s upstream gas investment to secure stable energy resources for Taiwan, the ministry said. The Alaska LNG project is jointly promoted by AGDC and major developer Glenfarne Group LLC, as Alaska plans to export up to 20 million tonnes of LNG annually from 2031. It involves constructing an 1,290km
NEXT GENERATION: The company also showcased automated machines, including a nursing robot called Nurabot, which is to enter service at a Taichung hospital this year Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) expects server revenue to exceed its iPhone revenue within two years, with the possibility of achieving this goal as early as this year, chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉) said on Tuesday at Nvidia Corp’s annual technology conference in San Jose, California. AI would be the primary focus this year for the company, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), as rapidly advancing AI applications are driving up demand for AI servers, Liu said. The production and shipment of Nvidia’s GB200 chips and the anticipated launch of GB300 chips in the second half of the year would propel
‘MAKE OR BREAK’: Nvidia shares remain down more than 9 percent, but investors are hoping CEO Jensen Huang’s speech can stave off fears that the sales boom is peaking Shares in Nvidia Corp’s Taiwanese suppliers mostly closed higher yesterday on hopes that the US artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer would showcase next-generation technologies at its annual AI conference slated to open later in the day. The GPU Technology Conference (GTC) in California is to feature developers, engineers, researchers, inventors and information technology professionals, and would focus on AI, computer graphics, data science, machine learning and autonomous machines. The event comes at a make-or-break moment for the firm, as it heads into the next few quarters, with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s (黃仁勳) keynote speech today seen as having the ability to
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