NEW ZEALAND
Inflation at 32-year high
Inflation in the second quarter of this year rose to a 32-year high of 7.3 percent year-on-year, official figures released yesterday showed. The main drivers were rising fuel, food and housing costs, said Stats NZ, putting inflation at a level last seen in 1990. “Supply chain issues, labor costs, and higher demand have continued to push up the cost of building a new house,” said Jason Attewell of Stats NZ. Earlier this month, the central bank raised its benchmark interest rate to its highest level in six years and said further rises could follow.
INDIA
Growth forecast reduced
Morgan Stanley cut its forecast for the country’s annual growth to 7.2 percent for this year, as tighter financial conditions and a slowdown in global trade have pressured major economies around the world. The brokerage’s forecast, down from its previous projection of 7.6 percent, comes after the country’s economic growth slowed to the lowest in a year in the first three months of this year at 4.1 percent. The revised target is in line with the Reserve Bank of India’s view. For the next year, Morgan Stanley expects the annual GDP to touch 6.4 percent. The country’s annual consumer inflation, which touched multiyear highs in the past few months, eased marginally to 7.01 percent last month. The brokerage expects more respite ahead.
RETAIL
H&M to leave Russia
Swedish retailer Hennes & Mauritz AB (H&M) is to start winding down its operations in Russia, having halted all sales in the country in March after Russia’s attack on Ukraine. The Stockholm-based company expects to book costs of 2 billion kronor (US$190 million) from the process, of which about 1 billion kronor would have a cash-flow effect, it said in a statement. H&M’s Russian business accounted for about 4 percent of its 199 billion kronor in sales during the past financial year. The company has operated in the country since 2009.
MALAYSIA
7-Eleven might exit drugs
Convenience store operator 7-Eleven Malaysia Holdings Bhd is weighing exiting its pharmacy chain, people with knowledge of the matter said. The Kuala Lumpur-listed company is working with an adviser on the potential divestment of Caring Pharmacy Group Bhd, which is attracting interest from some Japanese parties, the people said. The company could seek a valuation for the retailer of about US$400 million in a deal, one of the people said. 7-Eleven Malaysia is the biggest 24-hour convenience store operator in the Southeast Asian nation. The company started offering franchising programs to local entrepreneurs in 2009 after the number of stores in its network crossed 1,000 the same year.
DELIVERY
Deliveroo cuts forecast
Deliveroo PLC slashed its projections for sales growth this year after the value of transactions on its platform grew more slowly in the latest quarter, reflecting an increasingly cautious view of economic performance and mounting challenges facing consumers. The London-based food delivery company said in a statement yesterday that gross transaction value (GTV) was projected to rise 4 to 12 percent this year, after previously forecasting growth of 15 to 25 percent. That reduction comes after GTV rose 2 percent year-on-year in the second quarter in constant currency, a slowdown compared with a 12 percent expansion in the first quarter.
Intel Corp chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武) is expected to meet with Taiwanese suppliers next month in conjunction with the opening of the Computex Taipei trade show, supply chain sources said on Monday. The visit, the first for Tan to Taiwan since assuming his new post last month, would be aimed at enhancing Intel’s ties with suppliers in Taiwan as he attempts to help turn around the struggling US chipmaker, the sources said. Tan is to hold a banquet to celebrate Intel’s 40-year presence in Taiwan before Computex opens on May 20 and invite dozens of Taiwanese suppliers to exchange views
Application-specific integrated circuit designer Faraday Technology Corp (智原) yesterday said that although revenue this quarter would decline 30 percent from last quarter, it retained its full-year forecast of revenue growth of 100 percent. The company attributed the quarterly drop to a slowdown in customers’ production of chips using Faraday’s advanced packaging technology. The company is still confident about its revenue growth this year, given its strong “design-win” — or the projects it won to help customers design their chips, Faraday president Steve Wang (王國雍) told an online earnings conference. “The design-win this year is better than we expected. We believe we will win
Chizuko Kimura has become the first female sushi chef in the world to win a Michelin star, fulfilling a promise she made to her dying husband to continue his legacy. The 54-year-old Japanese chef regained the Michelin star her late husband, Shunei Kimura, won three years ago for their Sushi Shunei restaurant in Paris. For Shunei Kimura, the star was a dream come true. However, the joy was short-lived. He died from cancer just three months later in June 2022. He was 65. The following year, the restaurant in the heart of Montmartre lost its star rating. Chizuko Kimura insisted that the new star is still down
While China’s leaders use their economic and political might to fight US President Donald Trump’s trade war “to the end,” its army of social media soldiers are embarking on a more humorous campaign online. Trump’s tariff blitz has seen Washington and Beijing impose eye-watering duties on imports from the other, fanning a standoff between the economic superpowers that has sparked global recession fears and sent markets into a tailspin. Trump says his policy is a response to years of being “ripped off” by other countries and aims to bring manufacturing to the US, forcing companies to employ US workers. However, China’s online warriors
RSS