S Korea inflation pressuring BOK
S Korea inflation pressuring BOKBloombergSouth Korean consumer prices stayed well above the Bank of Korea’s (BOK) target last month, data released yesterday showed, keeping the pressure on policymakers to continue tightening as central banks move to tamp down inflation. Consumer prices rose 3.6 percent from a year earlier, edging down from a 3.7 percent gain in December last year, according to BOK data, which ran hotter than economists had expected. An employee works on the production line manufacturing Hyundai Motor Co Ioniq 5 electric vehicles at the company’s plant in Ulsan, South Korea, on Jan. 20. “This doesn’t mean the BOK will hike its rate again this month, after having moved in January,” strategist Roh Hyun-woo at Hanwha Asset Management said of Korea’s inflation figures. Food and beverage prices increased 5.5 percent from a year earlier, while utility costs rose 3.3 percent.
Source:Taipei Times
February 05, 2022 03:58 UTC
India turns down Tesla Inc demand for EV tax break
India turns down Tesla Inc demand for EV tax breakBloombergIndia turned down a demand of Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc for tax breaks to import electric vehicles (EVs), saying that rules already allow bringing in partially built vehicles and assembling them locally at a lower levy. Tesla has yet to present a plan for local manufacturing and procurement from India, even after the government asked for it, Johri said. India has asked Tesla to consider importing so-called knocked-down units or partially built vehicles, which attract a lower import levy, instead of fully built units. Tesla should follow the lead of domestic companies such as Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd and Tata Motors Ltd, which are investing in building local capacity for electric vehicles, Johri said. “There are others importing completely built units.
Source:Taipei Times
February 04, 2022 22:12 UTC
Facebook’s parent faces historic drop as stock tanks
Meta’s stock information is displayed on a screen at the NASDAQ MarketSite in New York on Thursday. There is “continued concern that Facebook’s past challenges will follow Meta into the metaverse,” Forrester Research research director Mike Proulx said. App analytics company SensorTower said that 86 apps added “metaverse” to their title or description from November last year through last month. Stifel analyst Mark Kelley sought to calm investors, saying that Zuckerberg outlined not one, but seven investment priorities for the company this year. Kelley said he does not think that Meta’s initial goal of reaching 1 billion metaverse users is a stretch — and importantly, he believes only 40 percent would be gamers, signaling its broader appeal.
Source:Taipei Times
February 04, 2022 21:59 UTC
Shell boosts share buyback as oil, gas prices bolster profit
Shell boosts share buyback as oil, gas prices bolster profitBloombergShell PLC expanded its share buybacks after reporting profit that comfortably exceeded analyst estimates on the back of surging energy prices. The positive fourth-quarter earnings cap a tumultuous year in which Shell was targeted by activist investor Dan Loeb, relocated its headquarters to London and dropped “Royal Dutch” from its name. Yet the company has also been buoyed by surging oil and gas prices, causing the biggest annual share-price gain in five years. “Today we are stepping up our distributions with the announcement of an US$8.5 billion share buyback program.”Ever since Shell slashed its dividend in 2020 during the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, Van Beurden has been seeking to lure back investors by improving returns. The company had already pledged to give back to investors US$5.5 billion of the cash proceeds from the sale of its Permian-basin oil assets.
Source:Taipei Times
February 04, 2022 00:57 UTC
Man proposes after winning NT$1 million in lottery
Man proposes after winning NT$1 million in lotteryStaff writer, with CNAA man proposed to his girlfriend immediately after winning NT$1 million (US$35,935) from a lottery scratch card following a visit to an Earth God (土地公) temple in New Taipei City during the Lunar New Year holiday, the lottery shop in Jhonghe District (中和) said yesterday. After winning, the man thanked the local deity for “sponsoring” his forthcoming wedding, the owner said. The couple, who are in their 30s, could not at first believe they had won the Taiwan Lottery Co scratchcard lottery, which has been running since Jan. 4 and has a top prize of NT$20 million, the owner said. They left the shop in disbelief and returned a few hours later to ask the shop owner to help them confirm it. To celebrate the Lunar Year of the Tiger, Taiwan Lottery Co added NT$880 million in prize money to the jackpots of several lotteries.
Source:Taipei Times
February 03, 2022 21:59 UTC
Alphabet nearly doubles annual profit
Alphabet nearly doubles annual profitGOOGLE PARENT: CEO Sundar Pichai ascribed the success to growth in advertising, its cloud business and sales of Pixel phones, despite supply constraintsAFP, SAN FRANCISCOGoogle’s parent firm, Alphabet Inc, announced quarterly profits on Tuesday that beat expectations and nearly doubled last year — after a booming holiday season for the online ads giant facing anti-trust regulation scrutiny. Photo: BloombergAlphabet CEO Sundar Pichai cited “strong growth in our advertising business ... a quarterly sales record for our Pixel phones despite supply constraints, and our cloud business continuing to grow strongly” for the success. Alphabet said its board had approved a 20-to-1 stock split that would make shares more affordable to small investors. “In the fourth quarter, retail was again by far the largest contributor to year-on-year growth of our ads business,” Alphabet CBO Philipp Schindler told analysts. The stock was up nearly 9 percent in after-market trades Tuesday at 10:40pm GMT to US$2,990.
Source:Taipei Times
February 03, 2022 03:55 UTC
Putin hopeful of deal with US on security tensions
Putin hopeful of deal with US on security tensionsBloombergRussian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday lambasted the US and its allies for “deceiving” Russia over the expansion of NATO, but suggested further talks might yield a resolution that address Moscow’s security concerns. “I hope that dialogue will continue,” Putin said in his first detailed public comments since December on the tensions. To help address Russian concerns, Washington has offered to discuss limits on missile deployments and military maneuvers in Europe. In his comments, Putin repeated accusations that NATO reneged on assurances made in the early 1990s that the alliance would not expand in the east. Putin accused the US of using Ukraine as a tool to “contain” Russia.
Source:Taipei Times
February 02, 2022 22:00 UTC
Japanese resolution voices concern on China rights issues
Japanese resolution voices concern on China rights issuesAFP and Reuters, TOKYOThe Japanese parliament yesterday passed a rare resolution expressing concern about rights issues in China, including the treatment of its Uighur Muslim population and Hong Kong, ahead of the opening of the Beijing Winter Olympics. “Human rights issues cannot just be domestic issues, because human rights hold universal values and are a rightful matter of concern for the international community,” the resolution said. Lawmakers stand up to show their support as the lower house of parliament adopts a resolution on human rights in China in Tokyo yesterday. The resolution also calls on the Japanese government to engage constructively on rights issues in China. Japan in December said it would not send government representatives to the Beijing Olympics as it called on China to respect human rights and the rule of law.
Source:Taipei Times
February 02, 2022 03:59 UTC
Del Potro to return after 30-month injury absence
Del Potro to return after 30-month injury absenceAFP, BUENOS AIRESFormer US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro is to return to competitive tennis after two-and-a-half years of injury at next week’s Argentina Open in Buenos Aires. Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro returns to Denis Shapovalov of Canada in their Queen’s Club Championships match in London on June 19, 2019. Photo: ReutersBoth the Argentina Open and the Rio Open, which takes place a week later, announced Del Potro had been given wild cards to compete in the clay-court events. The US Open champion at 20 in 2009, Del Potro won the last of his 22 ATP Tour titles in Indian Wells, California, in 2018. Photo: AFPHe last played the Argentina Open as a 17-year-old in 2006, losing in the first round to former world No.
Source:Taipei Times
February 02, 2022 01:00 UTC
Lithuanian rum sells out in less than one hour: TTL
Lithuanian rum sells out in less than one hour: TTLStaff writer, with CNAA batch of 1,200 bottles of dark rum from Lithuania was fully sold out less than one hour after hitting the shelves of state-run Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corp (TTL, 台灣菸酒) yesterday morning, company chairman Ting Yen-che (丁彥哲) said. Bottles of Propeller brand rum produced by Lithuanian manufacturer MV Group Production are pictured at a warehouse in Taipei on Jan. 22. After the showrooms opened at 9:30am, the 1,200 bottles were sold out within an hour, he added. TTL last month announced that 6,000 bottles of Lithuanian rum would be ready for the market before the Lunar New Year. To let more people get their hands on the bottles, Ting said TTL asked bulk buyers if their orders could be delayed until after the Lunar New Year holiday.
Source:Taipei Times
February 01, 2022 22:00 UTC
CPC to leave natural gas prices stable this month
CPC to leave natural gas prices stable this monthStaff writer, with CNAAlthough natural gas prices on the global market have continued to rise, CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) announced yesterday that it will leave natural gas prices on the local market unchanged for this month. According to CPC, about 98 percent of energy consumed in Taiwan comes from imports, so it is no surprise that the movement of local natural gas prices is subject to price fluctuations on the international market due to higher import costs. A man checks cylinders of liquefied petroleum gas on a truck in Yilan County on July 18, 2018. Photo: Chang Yi-cheng, Taipei TimesTo reflect rising import costs, CPC said that domestic natural gas prices should have gone higher, but to alleviate inflationary pressure, the company has decided to leave its prices intact this month. In December, consumer prices in Taiwan rose 2.62 percent from a year earlier, remaining above the 2-percent inflationary alert level for the fifth consecutive month, according to the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics.
Source:Taipei Times
February 01, 2022 02:28 UTC
Cameroon, Burkina Faso through to AFCON semis
Cameroon, Burkina Faso through to AFCON semisAFP, DOUALA, CameroonCameroon and Burkina Faso on Saturday qualified for the semi-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) with Karl Toko-Ekambi’s double leading the hosts to a 2-0 win over Gambia before the Stallions edged Tunisia 1-0 in the late game. Burkina Faso’s Dango Ouattara, right, and Tunisia’s Mohamed Drager vie for the ball in their Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final in Garoua, Cameroon, on Saturday. Cameroon’s Karl Toko-Ekambi, right, and Gambia’s Saidy Janko vie for the ball in their Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final in Douala, Cameroon, on Saturday. Success for Burkina Faso came just five days after the landlocked west African country was plunged into political uncertainty when former Burkinabe president Roch Marc Christian Kabore was ousted in a military coup. Allow me to dedicate this win to our people who are being tested by current events,” Burkina Faso coach Kamou Malo said.
Source:Taipei Times
January 31, 2022 04:07 UTC
6G to be up to 100 times faster than 5G: MediaTek
6G to be up to 100 times faster than 5G: MediaTekStaff writer, with CNAThe data transmission speed of 6G (sixth-generation wireless) networks is expected to be 10 to 100 times faster than 5G technology, MediaTek Inc (聯發科) said in a paper released on Jan. 18. 6G standardization is expected to begin in 2024 or 2025, with the first standard technology expected in 2027 or 2028, said MediaTek, one of the world’s leading chip design companies. MediaTek is bolstering its 6G R&D and is working with top-end researchers in academia and industry to explore innovative technology trends, Fan said. It said it would continue to develop 5G technology to help push the standardization and commercialization of 6G systems. MediaTek also outlined new “killer applications” for 6G technology, saying these would drive the need for higher performance, such as extreme holographic and tactile communications, digital twins and advanced telepresence.
Source:Taipei Times
January 30, 2022 22:03 UTC
Pakistan’s textile exports set to surge in regional shift
Pakistan’s textile exports set to surge in regional shiftBOOMING ORDERS: As orders move away from neighboring countries such as India, Pakistan’s economic bright spot has found new customers in South America and AfricaBloombergPakistan’s textile sector is bringing cheer to its flailing economy, with exports set to swell to a record after gaining an edge over South Asian rivals during the COVID-19 pandemic. Textile exports are poised to surge 40 percent from a year earlier to a record US$21 billion in the 12 months ending in June, said Abdul Razak Dawood, commerce adviser to Pakistan’s prime minister. The nation is doubling down to boost textile exports through measures including tax breaks, cheap loans and supplying electricity at rates comparable to rivals in South Asia. “Pakistan’s exports have become competitive over the past few years,” Ismail Iqbal Securities CEO Ahfaz Mustafa said. It is also trying to revive a US$6 billion bailout program to meet financing requirements amid a record trade deficit.
Source:Taipei Times
January 30, 2022 22:03 UTC
Dollar posts biggest weekly increse in 7 months on rate bets
Dollar posts biggest weekly increse in 7 months on rate betsReutersThe US dollar on Friday consolidated gains and posted its biggest weekly rise in seven months as markets priced in a year ahead of aggressive hikes in US interest rates. The US dollar index rose a scant 0.04 percent to 97.22. The index, which measures the US dollar’s value against other major currencies, rose 1.65 percent for the week, its biggest weekly gain since June. The Employment Cost Index (ECI), the broadest measure of labor costs, rose 1.0 percent after increasing 1.3 percent a quarter earlier. The New Taiwan dollar declined against US dollar on Friday, losing NT$0.022 to close at NT$27.828, down 0.45 percent from NT$27.702 a week earlier.
Source:Taipei Times
January 30, 2022 03:54 UTC