REAL ESTATE
N Zealand posts record low
House sales in New Zealand fell to a record low in the three months through September last year as a slump in prices spooked buyers. Sales of residential and lifestyle properties fell to 14,966 in the third quarter of last year, which was the lowest since records began in 1990, CoreLogic New Zealand data published yesterday by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand showed. Prices have tumbled as the central bank raises interest rates to combat soaring inflation. Average prices last month fell 5 percent year-on-year, the biggest drop for a calendar year since 2008.
AUSTRALIA
Prices drive trade surplus
The economy is on track to record a fifth consecutive year of trade surpluses as data for November last year showed ongoing strength in metals shipments, driven by higher prices. The windfall came in at A$13.2 billion (US$9.1 billion), exceeding economists’ estimates for A$11.3 billion, Bureau of Statistics data showed yesterday. Overall exports were little changed, while imports declined 1 percent in November. The country is a major exporter of iron ore and natural gas, as well as other commodities such as wheat, which have advanced amid concerns that war-ravaged Ukraine would be unable to ship its harvest.
UNITED KINGDOM
London downtrend forecast
More than half of London’s business leaders expect the city’s economy to get worse this year, a survey showed, as companies are squeezed by rising costs and a shortage of workers. The London Chambers of Commerce and Industry yesterday said that 48 percent of surveyed companies are under pressure to lift prices amid higher labor costs. Borrowing costs are also weighing on the city’s businesses, with 43 percent reporting that they had risen in the past three months. Overall, small (52 percent) and large (54 percent) companies expect London’s economy to decline over the next year.
AUTOMAKERS
China sales rise 9.5 percent
Sales in China rose 9.5 percent last year as electric vehicle purchases nearly doubled, but demand in the global industry’s biggest market slumped last month, foreshadowing weaker growth this year, a trade group said yesterday. Sales of sports utility vehicles, sedans and minivans last year rose to 23.6 million, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said. Total sales, including trucks and buses, edged up 2.1 percent to 26.9 million. Auto sales fell 6.7 percent last month from a year earlier to 2.3 million as consumer demand weakened under pressure from COVID-19 curbs. Total vehicle sales fell 8.4 percent to 2.6 million.
APPAREL
Uniqlo reels from virus curbs
Fast Retailing Co, the parent company of Japanese clothing giant Uniqlo, yesterday said its net profit for the first quarter of this fiscal year slid 9.1 percent because of COVID-19 lockdowns in China. The company reported ￥85 billion (US$649 million) net profit from September to November last year, but left unchanged its forecast of ￥230 billion for the fiscal year. Profit for international business also declined because of “the temporary suspension of operations in Russia,” the company said in a statement. However, with the exception of China and Japan, Uniqlo’s business “performed strongly,” it said. Sales grew 14.2 percent to ￥716.4 billion, but operating profit dipped 2 percent to ￥117 billion.
PROTECTIONISM: China hopes to help domestic chipmakers gain more market share while preparing local tech companies for the possibility of more US sanctions Beijing is stepping up pressure on Chinese companies to buy locally produced artificial intelligence (AI) chips instead of Nvidia Corp products, part of the nation’s effort to expand its semiconductor industry and counter US sanctions. Chinese regulators have been discouraging companies from purchasing Nvidia’s H20 chips, which are used to develop and run AI models, sources familiar with the matter said. The policy has taken the form of guidance rather than an outright ban, as Beijing wants to avoid handicapping its own AI start-ups and escalating tensions with the US, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the
Her white-gloved, waistcoated uniform impeccable, 22-year-old Hazuki Okuno boards a bullet train replica to rehearse the strict protocols behind the smooth operation of a Japanese institution turning 60 Tuesday. High-speed Shinkansen trains began running between Tokyo and Osaka on Oct. 1, 1964, heralding a new era for rail travel as Japan grew into an economic superpower after World War II. The service remains integral to the nation’s economy and way of life — so keeping it dazzlingly clean, punctual and accident-free is a serious job. At a 10-story, state-of-the-art staff training center, Okuno shouted from the window and signaled to imaginary colleagues, keeping
Taipei is today suspending its US$2.5 trillion stock market as Super Typhoon Krathon approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed-income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Yesterday, schools and offices were closed in several cities and counties in southern and eastern Taiwan, including in the key industrial port city of Kaohsiung. Taiwan, which started canceling flights, ship sailings and some train services earlier this week, has wind and rain advisories in place for much of the island. It regularly experiences typhoons, and in July shut offices and schools as
Arm Holdings PLC approached Intel Corp about potentially buying the ailing chipmaker’s product division, only to be told that the business is not for sale, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter. In the high-level inquiry, Arm did not express interest in Intel’s manufacturing operations, said the source, who asked not to be identified because the discussions were private. Intel has two main units: A product group that sells chips for personal computers, servers and networking equipment, and another that operates its factories. Representatives for Arm and Intel declined to comment. Intel, once the world’s largest chipmaker, has become the
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