EUROZONE
Commission raises outlook
The European Commission yesterday boosted its economic growth outlook for the eurozone this year, but it also raised the inflation forecast for the single currency area. The commission raised its growth outlook by 0.2 points to 1.1 percent. Brussels also raised next year’s growth forecast for the 20-country single currency zone by 0.1 points to 1.6 percent. The growth forecast for the 27-nation EU as a whole was also raised, although it remains lower than the eurozone at about 1 percent. The eurozone inflation forecast has also been revised higher, forecast to hit 5.8 percent this year compared to 5.6 percent in the previous outlook.
BEVERAGES
Japanese beer on rebound
South Korean drinkers are warming to Japan again. Beer imports from Japan outpaced those from China for the first time since July 2019, when South Korean consumers boycotted goods from their neighbor amid a political tit for tat. South Korea imported 3,870 tonnes of beer from Japan last month — more than nine times the volume a year earlier — while imports from China dropped to 2,226 tonnes, Korea Customs Service data released on Monday showed. It is the latest sign of improved relations between the two US allies.
REAL ESTATE
Rent outside London rises
The average monthly rent on a newly let home outside of London surpassed ￡1,000 (US$1,249) for the first time last month, a report from broker Hamptons International showed. That is almost 8 percent higher than the same month last year, piling more pressure on tenants amid a cost-of-living crisis. “With rents on the open market rising quickly, tenants will face the choice of staying put or moving to a smaller home in a more affordable area,” Hamptons research head Aneisha Beveridge said. Meanwhile, the gap between inner and outer London rents widened to more than ￡1,100 last month from just ￡221 in June 2021, the report said.
AUTOMAKERS
Stellantis workers protest
Stellantis NV workers in Southern Italy protesting unsanitary bathrooms, a lack of work gear and insufficient heating have slowed down manufacturing of Alfa Romeo Tonales and Fiat Panda models. Some staff at the Pomigliano d’Arco plant close to Naples stopped working for two hours on Friday, their third day of protests, said Simone Marinelli, who heads the Italian Federation of Metalworkers’ automotive arm. Stellantis said it rejected accusations of a lack of attention to working conditions, an Italy-based spokesman said. The company always acts within the framework of labor contracts and with respect for its employees, he said.
AUTOMAKERS
Vingroup shares rise
Shares of Vingroup JSC jumped after announcing its electric vehicle (EV) maker unit would list in the US by merging with a blank-check company at an equity value of about US$23 billion. Vingroup rose as much as 6.2 percent yesterday in Ho Chi Minh, the biggest gain since April 3. At that value, EV manufacturer Vinfast is set to mark a record US listing by a company from Vietnam. Including debt, the unit would be valued at about US$27 billion, a statement released on Friday by the parent said. The merger with Black Spade Acquisition Co, a Hong Kong-based firm, is expected to close in the second half of the year.
Napoleon Osorio is proud of being the first taxi driver to have accepted payment in bitcoin in the first country in the world to make the cryptocurrency legal tender: El Salvador. He credits Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele’s decision to bank on bitcoin three years ago with changing his life. “Before I was unemployed... And now I have my own business,” said the 39-year-old businessman, who uses an app to charge for rides in bitcoin and now runs his own car rental company. Three years ago the leader of the Central American nation took a huge gamble when he put bitcoin
TECH RACE: The Chinese firm showed off its new Mate XT hours after the latest iPhone launch, but its price tag and limited supply could be drawbacks China’s Huawei Technologies Co (華為) yesterday unveiled the world’s first tri-foldable phone, as it seeks to expand its lead in the world’s biggest smartphone market and steal the spotlight from Apple Inc hours after it debuted a new iPhone. The Chinese tech giant showed off its new Mate XT, which users can fold three ways like an accordion screen door, during a launch ceremony in Shenzhen. The Mate XT comes in red and black and has a 10.2-inch display screen. At 3.6mm thick, it is the world’s slimmest foldable smartphone, Huawei said. The company’s Web site showed that it has garnered more than
PARTNERSHIPS: TSMC said it has been working with multiple memorychip makers for more than two years to provide a full spectrum of solutions to address AI demand Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday said it has been collaborating with multiple memorychip makers in high-bandwidth memory (HBM) used in artificial intelligence (AI) applications for more than two years, refuting South Korean media report's about an unprecedented partnership with Samsung Electronics Co. As Samsung is competing with TSMC for a bigger foundry business, any cooperation between the two technology heavyweights would catch the eyes of investors and experts in the semiconductor industry. “We have been working with memory partners, including Micron, Samsung Memory and SK Hynix, on HBM solutions for more than two years, aiming to advance 3D integrated circuit
Vanguard International Semiconductor Corp (世界先進) and Episil Technologies Inc (漢磊) yesterday announced plans to jointly build an 8-inch fab to produce silicon carbide (SiC) chips through an equity acquisition deal. SiC chips offer higher efficiency and lower energy loss than pure silicon chips, and they are able to operate at higher temperatures. They have become crucial to the development of electric vehicles, artificial intelligence data centers, green energy storage and industrial devices. Vanguard, a contract chipmaker focused on making power management chips and driver ICs for displays, is to acquire a 13 percent stake in Episil for NT$2.48 billion (US$77.1 million).
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