JAPAN
Trade deficit narrows
The trade deficit narrowed for the second month last month, as the price of fuel eased and brought down import costs. The trade gap shrank to ￥754.5 billion (US$5.6 billion) from a revised ￥898.1 billion in February, the Ministry of Finance reported yesterday. Economists had forecast a ￥1.29 trillion shortfall. Imports grew 7.3 percent from a year earlier, the smallest gain in two years, as a firmer yen and falling commodity prices, including oil, curbed import costs. Exports were up 4.3 percent from a year earlier, led by vehicle shipments. While smaller than the earlier month, the deficit has extended its streak to 20 months and is seen weighing on recovery prospects.
TECHNOLOGY
Seagate fined for China deal
US authorities on Wednesday imposed a US$300 million penalty on Seagate Technology Holdings PLC, to resolve alleged contraventions of export controls related to selling hard disk drives to Huawei Technologies Co (華為), the US Department of Commerce said. The manufacturer was involved in the shipment of hard disk drives valued at more than US$1.1 billion to Huawei entities despite US controls. The commerce department said the breaches took place between August 2020 and September 2021.
TECHNOLOGY
Nokia EPS miss forecast
Finland’s Nokia Oyj yesterday reported a lower-than-expected rise in earnings in the first quarter of this year as economic headwinds affected spending by its customers. The telecommunications equipment maker said its net profit jumped 32 percent to 289 million euros (US$317 million), but its earnings per share (EPS) amounted to 0.06 euros, weaker than the 0.07 euros expected in a survey of analysts by financial data firm FactSet Inc. Its comparable operating margin — a profitability yardstick — declined to 8.2 percent from 10.9 percent a year earlier.
COSMETICS
L’Oreal sales grow 14.6%
French beauty products giant L’Oreal SA yesterday posted double-digit percentage sales growth in the first quarter of this year despite a dip in China at the beginning of the year. The company said sales rose by volume and value, jumping 14.6 percent from the same period last year to 10.38 billion euros. North Asia sales rose only 1.1 percent due to a drop “in continental China at the very beginning of the year as a result of the evolution of the health situation,” the company said. Sales grew 16.6 percent in Europe, L’Oreal’s biggest region, with gains lead by cosmetics, perfumes and skin treatments.
TECHNOLOGY
IBM forecasts 3-5% growth
International Business Machines Corp (IBM) gave a forecast for annual revenue in line with analysts’ projections, delivering a cautiously optimistic signal about technology spending in an uncertain economy. Sales would increase 3 to 5 percent this year, the company said on Wednesday, meeting analysts’ estimates. The company affirmed a previous free cash flow forecast of US$10.5 billion for the year. IBM reported first-quarter revenue of US$14.3 billion, little changed from the same period a year earlier and slightly below analysts’ average estimate. Profit excluding some items was US$1.36 per share in the quarter ended March 31. Analysts projected US$1.25 per share, data compiled by Bloomberg showed.
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
‘SILVER LINING’: Although the news caused TSMC to fall on the local market, an analyst said that as tariffs are not set to go into effect until April, there is still time for negotiations US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that he would likely impose tariffs on semiconductor, automobile and pharmaceutical imports of about 25 percent, with an announcement coming as soon as April 2 in a move that would represent a dramatic widening of the US leader’s trade war. “I probably will tell you that on April 2, but it’ll be in the neighborhood of 25 percent,” Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago club when asked about his plan for auto tariffs. Asked about similar levies on pharmaceutical drugs and semiconductors, the president said that “it’ll be 25 percent and higher, and it’ll
When an apartment comes up for rent in Germany’s big cities, hundreds of prospective tenants often queue down the street to view it, but the acute shortage of affordable housing is getting scant attention ahead of today’s snap general election. “Housing is one of the main problems for people, but nobody talks about it, nobody takes it seriously,” said Andreas Ibel, president of Build Europe, an association representing housing developers. Migration and the sluggish economy top the list of voters’ concerns, but analysts say housing policy fails to break through as returns on investment take time to register, making the
CHIP BOOM: Revenue for the semiconductor industry is set to reach US$1 trillion by 2032, opening up opportunities for the chip pacakging and testing company, it said ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光投控), the world’s largest provider of outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) services, yesterday launched a new advanced manufacturing facility in Penang, Malaysia, aiming to meet growing demand for emerging technologies such as generative artificial intelligence (AI) applications. The US$300 million facility is a critical step in expanding ASE’s global footprint, offering an alternative for customers from the US, Europe, Japan, South Korea and China to assemble and test chips outside of Taiwan amid efforts to diversify supply chains. The plant, the company’s fifth in Malaysia, is part of a strategic expansion plan that would more than triple
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