JAPAN
Wages drop for 12th month
Workers’ real wages continued to fall in March, in a weaker-than-expected result for pay that is under close scrutiny from the government. Monthly real cash earnings for workers dropped 2.9 percent from a year earlier, slipping for a 12th straight month, the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare reported yesterday. Economists had forecast a 2.4 percent decline. Nominal cash earnings gained 0.8 percent from the previous year to reach ￥291,081 (US$2,155) for the month, below analysts’ expectations and far from the 3 percent increase flagged by policymakers as necessary for supporting inflation.
AUSTRALIA
Budget surplus forecast
The resource-rich nation is projecting its first budget surplus in 15 years, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said yesterday. “We are now forecasting a surplus this year, smaller deficits after that,” Chalmers told media, hours before unveiling what is expected to be an A$4 billion (US$2.7 billion) surfeit. Chalmers touted the “biggest budget turnaround on record” as evidence of “responsible economic management.” The projected surplus for this financial year would be delivered thanks in part to rising tax income — caused by record-low unemployment — but above all sky-high commodity prices.
MEXICO
Industrial corridor planned
The government on Monday set out fresh details of a plan to attract businesses to a corridor straddling a narrow isthmus of southern Mexico, part of a larger push to pump investment into the relatively poor region. The plan, called the Inter-Oceanic Corridor, is to include 10 new industrial parks along the stretch connecting the Pacific port of Salina Cruz in Oaxaca state with the Gulf coast hub of Coatzacoalcos in Veracruz state, officials said. The government would provide incentives for companies that set up business in the parks, including waiving taxes on rent and value-added taxes, in return for creating a minimum number of jobs, the Ministry of Economy said.
APPAREL
JD Sports bids for Courir
British sports fashion retailer JD Sports Fashion PLC yesterday announced a 520 million euro (US$570.9 million) bid for Courir France SAS, as it pursues its expansion in Europe and beyond. The company said in a statement that it entered “exclusive negotiations” on Monday with private equity firm Equistone Partners Europe, the majority owner of Courir, over the deal which comprises 325 million euros in cash and 195 million euros in assumed debt. The transaction is conditional on regulatory approval from the European Commission and is not expected to be completed before the second half of this year.
PHARMACEUTICALS
Mankind up 30% in IPO
Mankind Pharma Ltd rallied 30 percent on its first day of trading in Mumbai after raising 43.3 billion rupees (US$527.4 million) in one of India’s largest initial public offerings (IPOs) of the year. The drug and contraceptive maker’s stock yesterday jumped to as high as 1,414 rupees. Its shareholders had sold 40 million shares at 1,080 rupees apiece in the IPO, the top of a marketed range that started at 1,026 rupees. The solid debut comes after anchor investors such as the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, the government of Singapore and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority together subscribed to nearly 13 billion rupees worth of shares in the offering.
Semiconductor business between Taiwan and the US is a “win-win” model for both sides given the high level of complementarity, the government said yesterday responding to tariff threats from US President Donald Trump. Home to the world’s largest contract chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), Taiwan is a key link in the global technology supply chain for companies such as Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp. Trump said on Monday he plans to impose tariffs on imported chips, pharmaceuticals and steel in an effort to get the producers to make them in the US. “Taiwan and the US semiconductor and other technology industries
SMALL AND EFFICIENT: The Chinese AI app’s initial success has spurred worries in the US that its tech giants’ massive AI spending needs re-evaluation, a market strategist said Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) start-up DeepSeek’s (深度求索) eponymous AI assistant rocketed to the top of Apple Inc’s iPhone download charts, stirring doubts in Silicon Valley about the strength of the US’ technological dominance. The app’s underlying AI model is widely seen as competitive with OpenAI and Meta Platforms Inc’s latest. Its claim that it cost much less to train and develop triggered share moves across Asia’s supply chain. Chinese tech firms linked to DeepSeek, such as Iflytek Co (科大訊飛), surged yesterday, while chipmaking tool makers like Advantest Corp slumped on the potential threat to demand for Nvidia Corp’s AI accelerators. US stock
The US Federal Reserve is expected to announce a pause in rate cuts on Wednesday, as policymakers look to continue tackling inflation under close and vocal scrutiny from US President Donald Trump. The Fed cut its key lending rate by a full percentage point in the final four months of last year and indicated it would move more cautiously going forward amid an uptick in inflation away from its long-term target of 2 percent. “I think they will do nothing, and I think they should do nothing,” Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis former president Jim Bullard said. “I think the
SUBSIDIES: The nominee for commerce secretary indicated the Trump administration wants to put its stamp on the plan, but not unravel it entirely US President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the agency in charge of a US$52 billion semiconductor subsidy program declined to give it unqualified support, raising questions about the disbursement of funds to companies like Intel Corp and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電). “I can’t say that I can honor something I haven’t read,” Howard Lutnick, Trump’s nominee for commerce secretary, said of the binding CHIPS and Science Act awards in a confirmation hearing on Wednesday. “To the extent monies have been disbursed, I would commit to rigorously enforcing documents that have been signed by those companies to make sure we get
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