Aluminum falls after record spike
Aluminum falls after record spikeBloombergAluminum on Friday gave up its gains after Thursday’s record surge, with the London Metal Exchange’s (LME) plan to discuss a potential ban on Russian metal exacerbating supply concerns while stimulus measures in China bolstered the demand outlook. Most other metals pared early gains on Friday, with zinc gaining as China stepped up measures to support its embattled property sector. The biggest impact would be on aluminum, as about half of Europe’s smelting capacity already has been curtailed due to record electricity costs in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Meanwhile, speaking to the demand outlook for industrial metals including copper, China’s factory activity continued to struggle last month, as the country’s economic recovery was challenged by lockdowns in major cities and a property market downturn. Aluminum was 1.6 percent lower to settle at US$2,162 per tonne on the LME.
Source:Taipei Times
October 02, 2022 03:52 UTC
Winning wave
What visitors should know about updated entry rulesTaiwan from Thursday is to reinstate visa exemptions for passport holders from 65 countries. The following is a list of answers to common questions regarding how the new regulations are to affect inbound international visitors Which passports will have visa-free entry privileges? Passport holders from Japan, South Korea, Chile, Israel and Nicaragua can stay in Taiwan for up to 90 days without a visa. Passport holders from Thailand, Brunei and the Philippines are to be allowed to stay in Taiwan for 14 days visa-free. Taiwan on Sept. 12 resumed 90-day visa-free entry for passport holders from the US, the UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New
Source:Taipei Times
October 01, 2022 23:28 UTC
Asian markets sink on inflation
Asian markets sink on inflationAP, BEIJINGAsian stocks on Friday sank again after German inflation spiked higher, British Prime Minister Liz Truss defended a tax-cut plan that rattled investors and Chinese factory activity weakened. Global export demand is weakening and Russia’s attack on Ukraine has disrupted oil and gas markets. The Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.55 percent to 3,024.39 after surveys of manufacturers showed factory production, new export orders and manufacturing employment declined last month. Sydney’s S&P ASX 200 sank 1.23 percent to 6,474.2, losing 1.53 percent for the week, while India’s SENSEX Index rose 1.8 percent to 57,426.92. Traders worry that will push up already high inflation, forcing the British central bank to cool economic growth by raising interest rates further.
Source:Taipei Times
October 01, 2022 23:26 UTC
Machine learning
Apple ditches plan to boost iPhone 14 productionPRICE POINT: While overall demand has lagged expectations, higher-priced iPhone 14 Pro models appear to attract more attention than entry-level versions, sources said Apple Inc is backing off plans to increase production of its new iPhones this year after an anticipated surge in demand failed to materialize, people familiar with the matter said. The Cupertino, California-based company has told suppliers to pull back from efforts to increase assembly of the iPhone 14 product family by as many as 6 million units in the second half of this year, said the people, asking not to be named as the plans are not public. Instead, the company would aim to produce 90 million handsets for the period, about the same level as in the second half
Source:Taipei Times
October 01, 2022 02:28 UTC
Taiwanese exports expected to struggle
He cited global headwinds including the US Federal Reserve’s rate hikes, and slowdowns in the US and Europe, which are major trading partners for Taiwan. Global demand for many products has waned as inflation elsewhere skyrockets and several major economies face the prospect of a slowdown or recession. August export growth in Taiwan slowed to just 2 percent, the slowest pace in more than two years, prompting Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) to warn at the time that “winter is coming” earlier than expected. Almost 40 percent of Taiwan’s exports went to Hong Kong and China for the first eight months of the year, ministry data showed. Sporadic lockdowns there have dented demand and confidence, becoming a major drag on growth in the world’s second-largest economy.
Source:Taipei Times
September 30, 2022 22:02 UTC
World Bank head warns of stagflation
World Bank head warns of stagflation‘SHARP SLOWDOWN’: The global median income has dropped 4 percent, the first decline since the World Bank begun measuring the indicator in 1990, a report saysReuters, WASHINGTONWorld Bank president David Malpass on Wednesday said that it could take years for global energy production to diversify away from Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, prolonging the risk of stagflation, or a period of low growth and high inflation. Those developments would have grave consequences for developing countries, Malpass said, citing what he called “consequential” and “worsening” challenges facing development. A volunteer packs boxes of food for distribution at the Capital Area Food Bank in Washington on Oct. 5 last year. Such adjustments would improve the allocation of global capital, providing a path to reduce inflation while restarting growth in median income, he said. More funding for education, health preparedness and adaptation to climate change was urgently needed, he said, along with steps to reduce the staggering debt levels burdening many developing countries.
Source:Taipei Times
September 30, 2022 03:59 UTC
Sales of gaming monitors to fall for first time: report
Sales of gaming monitors to fall for first time: reportUPDATED FORECAST: Consumers are putting off buying monitors due to rising inflation and delayed launches of new high-end graphics cards, TrendForce Corp saidBy Lisa Wang / Staff reporterShipments of gaming monitors are expected to plunge 10 percent year-on-year to 20.5 million units this year, which would mark the first decline since the products first entered the market, researcher TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. The researcher in March estimated that gaming monitor shipments would expand at an annual pace of 14 percent to about 26.1 million units this year. Sony Group Corp. Inzone headsets and Inzone gaming monitors displayed during an unveiling event in Tokyo, Japan, on Wednesday, June 29, 2022. Photo: BloombergConsumers are also putting off purchases of gaming monitors due to delayed launches of new high-end graphics cards, the Taipei-based researcher said. The uptake of gaming monitors with ultra-wide displays also helps stimulate demand for curved-display gaming monitors, it said.
Source:Taipei Times
September 30, 2022 03:58 UTC
Living tradition
PLA not capable of attack ‘for 10 years’HIGH STAKES: An attack on Taiwan could prompt a joint response from the US and Japan, and trigger a global conflict that could bring down the CCP, Liu Tai-ying said The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) would not be able to launch an invasion of Taiwan for at least another 10 years, Taiwan Research Institute founder Liu Tai-ying (劉泰英) said on Friday. To occupy Taiwan, China needs to transport at least 300,000 to 400,000 troops across the Taiwan Strait during battle, but it would lack the ability to do so for at least another decade, said Liu, a former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) treasurer and a close aide to former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝). The challenges that China would face during an attempted invasion of Taiwan would be even greater than thoseBy Ou Hsiang-yi and William Hetherington
Source:Taipei Times
September 29, 2022 04:13 UTC
Deflation looms in China amid property crisis
Deflation looms in China amid property crisisBloombergChina faces increasing risks from deflation as demand crumbles under the weight of an ongoing property crisis and is threatened by continued COVID-19 restrictions — a stark contrast with other major economies, a private survey showed. Photo: Bloomberg“While nearly the whole world panics over surging inflation, the specter of deflation looms over China thanks to the demand-crushing effects of COVID Zero,” CBBI chief executive officer Leland Miller said in a statement. “A closer look at our sector results provides some relief,” the report said, noting the pickup in retail and services. “Property has been taken out as a growth driver going forward, so you’re gonna have much slower growth completely independent of what’s happening with COVID,” Miller said. Retail and services showed a recovery in those indicators from the second quarter, though they remained below last year’s levels.
Source:Taipei Times
September 29, 2022 04:03 UTC
Economic ‘status quo’ is changing, US’ Pompeo says
Economic ‘status quo’ is changing, US’ Pompeo says‘TURNING POINT’: The US must engage with China ‘realistically and on our terms,’ which would include ‘more enthusiastic ties’ with Taiwan, Mike Pompeo saidBy Kayleigh Madjar / Staff reporter, in KAOHSIUNGThe economic “status quo,” which benefits China, is changing, presenting opportunities for closer cooperation between Taiwan and the US, former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo told a business forum in Kaohsiung yesterday. Pompeo is visiting Taiwan for the second time this year to attend the Global Taiwan Business Forum, organized by the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). Former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo, third left, Vice President William Lai, fourth left, and other speakers attend the Global Taiwan Business Forum at the Kaohsiung Marriott Hotel yesterday. Pompeo said that as secretary of state he and his department grappled with some fundamental questions about long-standing US policy toward China. People outside the Kaohsiung Marriott Hotel yesterday hold signs welcoming former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo to Taiwan and advocating independence.
Source:Taipei Times
September 28, 2022 04:07 UTC
Adani Group to invest US$100bn in next decade
Adani Group to invest US$100bn in next decadeINEXPENSIVE POWER: Group chairman Gautam Adani said 70% of the investment would go into energy transition, with a focus on green hydrogenReuters, NEW DELHIIndia’s Adani Group is to invest more than US$100 billion over the next decade, most of it in the energy transition business, chairman Gautam Adani said yesterday, as the ports-to-energy conglomerate accelerates an already aggressive expansion plan. “As a group, we will invest over US$100 billion of capital in the next decade,” Adani, the world’s second-richest person, told the Forbes Global CEO Conference in Singapore. Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani speaks at the Forbes CEO Summit in Singapore yesterday. We are already the world’s largest solar player, and we intend to do far more,” he said. Adani said his group was India’s largest airport operator, with 25 percent of passenger traffic and 40 percent of air cargo.
Source:Taipei Times
September 27, 2022 23:28 UTC
Leading indicators slow for 10th straight month
Leading indicators slow for 10th straight monthBy Chen Cheng-hui / Staff reporterThe nation’s economy continued to show signs of a slowdown, with the index of leading indicators for last month falling 0.94 percent to 96.38 points from July, marking the 10th consecutive month of decline, the National Development Council said yesterday. Photo: Lam Yik Fei, BloombergLast month’s index of coincident indicators, which tracks the current pace of economic activity, decreased by 1.43 percent to 96.89, falling for a seventh consecutive month, the report showed. All seven components of the index fell from the previous month, the council said. The total score of monitoring indicators for last month was 23 points, down from 24 points in July, flashing a “green light” for a sixth consecutive month, implying steady growth, the report showed. The government will be closely monitoring the economic situation, the council said in the report.
Source:Taipei Times
September 27, 2022 22:12 UTC
Capital controls
Qualcomm sets up second Taiwan innovation centerHEADING SOUTH: The US company chose Kaohsiung as its site as more customers, partners and start-ups have expanded their operations to the southern city Qualcomm Inc yesterday inaugurated a new innovation center in Kaohsiung as it steps up efforts to foster local start-ups and a 5G technology ecosystem in the city, following in the footsteps of its local partners. The US chip company’s move fits the Kaohsiung City Government’s plan to build a semiconductor supply chain within the next five years, highlighted by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) first chip plant in the city. TSMC plans to start building the factory by the end of this year, and to start production of 28-nanometer and 7-nanometer chips there in 2024. Qualcomm said it had beenBy Lisa Wang
Source:Taipei Times
September 27, 2022 02:42 UTC
Apple Inc begins making iPhone 14 in India weeks ahead of schedule
Apple Inc begins making iPhone 14 in India weeks ahead of scheduleBloombergApple Inc began making its new iPhone 14 in India sooner than anticipated, after a surprisingly smooth production rollout that slashed the lag between Chinese and Indian output from months to mere weeks. Apple Inc iPhones are displayed at the company’s Fifth Avenue store in New York on Sept. 16. “To turn India into a major manufacturing site, Apple will help India accelerate its production timeline,” he said. “We’re excited to be manufacturing iPhone 14 in India,” Apple said in a statement yesterday without discussing a production timeline. Apple’s partners began making iPhones in India in 2017, the start of a years-long effort to build manufacturing capabilities in the country.
Source:Taipei Times
September 27, 2022 02:42 UTC
Fuel prices stay unchanged
Fuel prices stay unchangedBy Chen Cheng-hui / Staff reporterGasoline and diesel prices are to remain unchanged this week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday, even though international crude oil prices moved lower. Gasoline prices at CPC stations are to stay at NT$29.2, NT$30.7 and NT$32.7 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, the state-run refiner said in a statement. The United Arab Emirates’ planned increase in oil production and the US Federal Reserve’s 75 basis-point rate increase led to decreases in international crude oil prices last week, CPC said. Based on its floating oil price formula, the cost of crude oil last week decreased 0.9 percent from a week earlier, it said. Formosa Petrochemical’s prices for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline are to stay at NT$29.2, NT$30.7 and NT$32.7 per liter respectively, while the price of premium diesel is to remain at NT$26.7 per liter, the company said.
Source:Taipei Times
September 26, 2022 04:12 UTC