UNITED KINGDOM
Air fryer sales jump 320%
Britons are turning to energy-saving products such as air fryers and slow cookers as they look for ways to combat the cost of living crisis, supermarket group Asda Stores Ltd said yesterday. Publishing its monthly Asda Income Tracker for last month, the group said it had seen a 320 percent increase in air fryer sales year-on-year, while sales of slow cookers had more than doubled. Both products generally use less energy than traditional ovens. Asda’s data also showed that UK families were ￡141 (US$163) worse off last month from a year earlier, mainly due to soaring utility bills.
SINGAPORE
Crypto restrictions planned
The Monetary Authority of Singapore might ban retail investors from borrowing to fund cryptocurrency purchases. Other potential steps in a central bank consultation paper include stopping companies from using tokens deposited by retail investors for lending or staking to generate yields. Staking is the process of earning rewards by deploying coins for cryptoapplications. The central bank said in the paper yesterday that the retail sector should not be able to use credit cards or other credit facilities to buy tokens. The restrictions would not apply to high-net-worth investors, who can qualify for a wider range of investments in the city-state.
BANKING
Deutsche Bank profit soars
Germany’s biggest lender, Deutsche Bank AG, yesterday said its third-quarter net profit had risen more than fivefold year-on-year, far better than expected, as a restructuring program bears fruit. The group’s net profit from July to last month reached 1.1 billion euros (US$1.1 billion), compared with 194 million euros in the same period last year, it said in a statement. Profit before tax hit 1.6 billion euros — the best third-quarter result since 2006, the bank said. Revenues increased 15 percent from a year earlier to 6.9 billion euros. They were driven by corporate banking, which rose 25 percent to 1.6 billion euros.
BEVERAGES
Heineken says demand weak
Heineken NV yesterday said it sees signs of weakness in consumer demand after beer sales missed estimates amid growing inflationary pressures. “We increasingly see reasons to be cautious on the macroeconomic outlook, including some signs of softness in consumer demand,” Heineken CEO Dolf van den Brink said. The world’s second-largest brewer said beer volumes rose 8.9 percent on an organic basis in the third quarter. The Dutch brewer in a statement noted “early signs of demand slowdown at the end of September and into October” in some parts of Europe.
FINANCE
Visa spending growth slows
Visa Inc saw spending growth slow the most since the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic as inflation weighs on consumers. Volume on the network rose 10.5 percent to US$2.93 trillion last quarter, Visa said on Tuesday. That was a decrease from the 12 percent growth the firm reported for the previous three months. It was the slowest expansion since Visa posted less than 5 percent for the first fiscal quarter of last year. “As we look ahead, while some short-term uncertainty exists, we remain confident in Visa’s long-term growth trajectory across consumer payments, new flows and value-added services,” chief executive officer Al Kelly said.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has approved a capital budget of US$31.28 billion for production expansion to meet long-term development needs during the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. The company’s board meeting yesterday approved the capital appropriation plan for purposes such as the installation of advanced technology capacity and fab construction, the world’s largest contract chipmaker said in a statement. At an earnings conference last month, TSMC forecast that its capital expenditure for this year would be at the higher end of the US$52 billion to US$56 billion range it forecast in January in response to robust demand for 5G, AI and
NEW MARKET: The partnership opens up India to the Dutch company, which already has a strong hold in the semiconductor market of South Korea, Taiwan and China ASML Holding NV entered into a partnership agreement with Tata Electronics Pvt Ltd aimed at ramping up India’s goal to develop domestic chip-manufacturing capabilities. The Dutch company’s technology would help power Tata Electronics’ planned 300 millimeter (mm) semiconductor foundry in Gujarat, according to a joint statement from the two companies on Saturday. The signing of a memorandum of understanding coincides with a visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the Netherlands, which is looking to deepen bilateral relations with New Delhi. ASML, whose top customers include Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) and Samsung Electronics Co, makes lithography machines that can print
PORTFOLIO REBALANCING: The adjustments in three global equity indices reflect rising investor appetite for semiconductor and artificial intelligence-related stocks Taiwan’s weighting in major global equity indices compiled by MSCI Inc is to rise modestly following the latest quarterly review, underscoring the market’s expanding role in emerging-market portfolios, as global investors continue to favor the nation’s technology sector. Taiwan’s weighting in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index is to increase by 0.30 percentage points to 23.76 percent, after the changes take effect at the close of the May 29 session. Its weighting in the MSCI All-Country Asia ex-Japan Index is to rise 0.37 percentage points to 27.16 percent, while that in the MSCI All Country World Index is to edge up slightly to
The Hsinchu County Government’s Labor Affairs Department yesterday said that it has received a plan from cosmetics brand Taiwan Shiseido Co (台灣資生堂) detailing mass layoffs at its plant in Hukou Township (湖口). While the labor authorities did not disclose the number of employees to be laid off, Japanese news media earlier in the day reported that the closure of the company’s factory in Hukou would result in 170 employees losing their jobs. Shiseido followed the law by reporting its layoff plan, the department said, adding that authorities would closely monitor negotiations between the management and affected employees and step in if any
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