CHINA
Industrial profit drop slows
The fall in profits of industrial enterprises last month narrowed from March, as the nation’s economy gradually recovered from a COVID-19-induced slump. Industrial profits last month dropped 4.3 percent from a year earlier, National Bureau of Statistics data showed yesterday. That was much smaller than the almost 35 percent drop in March. Profits contracted 27.4 percent in the first four months of this year and were down 46 percent at state-owned enterprises and 17.2 percent at private companies.
FRANCE
Caution about recovery
Economic activity is making a clear if cautious recovery after lockdown measures were relaxed earlier this month, but the nation is still heading for about 20 percent contraction this quarter, the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies said yesterday. That would be “the severest recession since the creation of the national accounts in 1948,” it said, adding that the forecast should be considered with caution given uncertainty about the pace of economic recovery in the coming weeks. The nation’s GDP fell 5.8 percent in the first quarter.
RETAIL
UK grocery sales rise 14.3%
UK grocery sales rose 14.3 percent in the 12 weeks to Sunday last week, the fastest rate since comparable records began in 1994, as Britons adapted to a national lockdown, data from market researcher Kantar showed yesterday. Of Britain’s big four grocers, industry leader Tesco PLC was the best performer with sales up 12.7 percent, closely followed by No. 2 player Sainsbury’s PLC with a 12.5 percent increase. No. 4 Morrisons Supermarkets PLC’s sales rose 9.8 percent, while Walmart Inc-owned Asda Stores Ltd was the laggard with a 6.5 percent increase.
TRANSPORTATION
Amazon in talks to buy Zoox
Amazon.com Inc is in talks to buy robo-taxi start-up Zoox, accelerating its efforts in self-driving vehicles, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. Amazon and Zoox are in advanced negotiations of a deal that would value the start-up at less than the US$3.2 billion it was estimated to be worth in a funding round two years ago, the newspaper said, citing unnamed people with knowledge of the matter. The takeover talks could yet break down, it added.
HEALTH
Buyer to expand gym chain
A consortium that acquired Anytime Fitness Inc’s business in Asia is betting that people would flock to gyms when they reopen to boost their immunity from the novel coronavirus. Inspire Brands Asia acquired the master franchise for Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore and Southeast Asia, where Anytime Fitness has more than 250 gyms. The consortium expects to double the number of its gyms to more than 500 in the next three years, CEO Luke Guanlao said in an interview. He did not disclose the purchase price.
INVESTMENT
KKR to invest in data center
KKR & Co Inc yesterday said that it would put US$1 billion into a new data center venture in Europe, as private equity firms chase returns in the growing market for digital infrastructure assets. The investment firm is teaming up with industry veteran Franek Sodzawiczny to launch Global Technical Realty, which is to develop and build data centers for large technology companies in Europe, it said in a news release, confirming an earlier Bloomberg News report.
Zhang Yazhou was sitting in the passenger seat of her Tesla Model 3 when she said she heard her father’s panicked voice: The brakes do not work. Approaching a red light, her father swerved around two cars before plowing into a sport utility vehicle and a sedan, and crashing into a large concrete barrier. Stunned, Zhang gazed at the deflating airbag in front of her. She could never have imagined what was to come: Tesla Inc sued her for defamation for complaining publicly about the vehicles brakes — and won. A Chinese court ordered Zhang to pay more than US$23,000 in
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday said that its investment plan in Arizona is going according to schedule, following a local media report claiming that the company is planning to break ground on its third wafer fab in the US in June. In a statement, TSMC said it does not comment on market speculation, but that its investments in Arizona are proceeding well. TSMC is investing more than US$65 billion in Arizona to build three advanced wafer fabs. The first one has started production using the 4-nanometer (nm) process, while the second one would start mass production using the
A TAIWAN DEAL: TSMC is in early talks to fully operate Intel’s US semiconductor factories in a deal first raised by Trump officials, but Intel’s interest is uncertain Broadcom Inc has had informal talks with its advisers about making a bid for Intel Corp’s chip-design and marketing business, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Nothing has been submitted to Intel and Broadcom could decide not to pursue a deal, according to the Journal. Bloomberg News earlier reported that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is in early talks for a controlling stake in Intel’s factories at the request of officials at US President Donald Trump’s administration, as the president looks to boost US manufacturing and maintain the country’s leadership in critical technologies. Trump officials raised the
From George Clooney to LeBron James, celebrities in the US have cashed in on tequila’s soaring popularity, but in Mexico, producers of the agave plant used to make the country’s most famous liquor are nursing a nasty hangover. Instead of bringing a long period of prosperity for farmers of the spiky succulent, the tequila boom has created a supply glut that sent agave prices slumping. Mexican tequila exports surged from 224 million liters in 2018 to a record 402 million last year, according to the Tequila Regulatory Council, which oversees qualification for the internationally recognized denomination of origin label. The US, Germany, Spain,
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