ALAYSIA
Policy rate raised to 3%
Bank Negara Malaysia yesterday unexpectedly raised its benchmark interest rate by a quarter point, as it sought to pre-emptively ward off any risk of future financial imbalance amid lingering price pressures. The central bank hiked the overnight policy rate to 3 percent, a move predicted by just three out of 19 economists in a Bloomberg survey. “The balance of risk to the inflation outlook is tilted to the upside and remains highly subject to any changes to domestic policy including on subsidies and price controls, financial market developments, as well as global commodity prices,” it said in a statement.
TURKEY
Inflation slows, but still high
Inflation slowed below 50 percent for the first time in more than a year, with risks for price stability rising as the country goes to the polls in less than two weeks. Consumer prices grew an annual 43.7 percent last month, down from 50.5 percent in March, official data showed yesterday. Core inflation — which strips out volatile items such as energy and food — was an annual 45.5 percent, down from 47.4 percent in March. While slowing slightly more than expected by economists in a Bloomberg survey, inflation is now forecast to plateau at about 44 to 45 percent for the rest of the year.
AUSTRALIA
Retail sales rise further
Retail sales rose for a third straight month in March, driven primarily by food inflation, as household spending begins to cool under the weight of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s aggressive interest rate increases. Sales advanced 0.4 percent from a month earlier, compared with a forecast 0.2 percent gain, Bureau of Statistics data showed yesterday. Every category outside of food and eating out recorded a decline. The result suggests consumers are beginning to hunker down in the face of rising borrowing costs, in line with the central bank’s aim.
AIRLINES
Lufthansa upbeat on profits
Deutsche Lufthansa AG yesterday said it expected earnings to rise above pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels in the second quarter as air travel continues to recover, putting the carrier closer to achieving its longer-term profit goals. Adjusted earnings before interest and taxes this quarter are forecast to surpass the 754 million euros (US$833 million) achieved in the same period in 2019, Europe’s biggest airline group said in a statement. Lufthansa said summer flights to Spain are particularly popular, with demand for city breaks, a favorite among Europeans before COVID-19 struck, recovering significantly, despite inflation squeezing disposable incomes.
AUTOMAKERS
Stellantis beats forecasts
Stellantis NV’s first-quarter sales climbed more than expected thanks to strong vehicle prices and higher shipments of models like the Jeep Compass. Revenue rose 14 percent to 47.2 billion euros, ahead of analysts’ expectations of 45.8 billion euros, the maker of Ram pickups and Fiat cars said yesterday. The company reaffirmed full-year guidance for a double-digit adjusted operating income margin and positive industrial free cash flow. Stellantis, which has been battling logistics snags, particularly in Europe, said new vehicle inventory was at 1.3 million at the end of March, reflecting a return to more normal levels. Shipments during the quarter rose 7 percent after the availability of semiconductors improved.
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
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
‘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
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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