Apple’s Taiwanese suppliers recorded all-time high revenues in December, with combined sales coming in at a 20% year-over-year gain, according to Nikkei Asian Review. Prospects for 2018, however, are less rosy, as demand for smartphones has already dropped and production on the iPhone 8 has been slashed for the current quarter.
Bird Flu
Japanese officials confirmed Thursday the outbreak of a highly pathogenic bird flu in the country’s western Kagawa prefecture, the South China Morning Post reports. The prefectural government plans to cull 91,000 chickens at a farm in the city of Sanuki; movement of poultry and eggs within a 1.8 mile-radius of the infected site will be restricted.
Trade with China
China reported Friday its biggest-ever annual trade surplus with the US, according to the Wall Street Journal. Rising American demand in particular drove Chinese exports, expanding the country’s trade surplus in goods with the US to $275.8 billion in 2017.
Producer Prices
And finally, a manufacturing update: US producer prices fell for the first time in nearly 18 months, CNBC reports, slipping 0.1% in December amid declining costs for services.
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