Business

Apple reports higher profits, unveils big share buyback

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Apple reported a jump in second-quarter earnings Tuesday and announced a new $100 billion share buyback plan, although sales of iPhone smartphones narrowly missed expectations. Apple reported a 25.3 percent rise in earnings to $13.8 billion following 15.6 percent increase in revenues to $61.1 billion. The company exceeded analyst expectations in per-share earnings and revenues, lifting shares in after-hours trading. But iPhone sales for the quarter ending March 31 […]

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WhatsApp co-founder leaving Facebook

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — WhatsApp co-founder Jan Koum on Monday put out the word that he is leaving Facebook, which bought the smartphone messaging service four years ago for $19 billion. Koum said in a post on his Facebook page that he is taking time off to pursue interests such as collecting air-cooled Porsches, working on cars and playing ultimate Frisbee. US media reports indicated that a disagreement with Facebook over the privacy […]

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Asia markets rise as Seoul, won extend gains after Moon-Kim talks

HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Hong Kong led a rally across most Asian markets on Monday as traders brushed off a slowdown in the US economy, while the boost from last week’s historic North-South Korea summit continues to support Seoul and the won. While figures on Friday showed growth in the world’s top economy slowed in January-March, tech firms on Wall Street won support after healthy earnings from Amazon, Microsoft, and Intel. The positive lead […]

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Sony profits soar nearly seven-fold to $4.5 billion

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Sony on Friday reported profits worth $4.5 billion, extending a roaring recovery supported by better sales of smartphone image sensors and movies, and improvement in its finance businesses. The firm said its net yearly profit reached 490.8 billion yen ($4.5 billion) for the year to March, compared with 73.3 billion yen a year earlier, thanks to increased sales across the board and favorable foreign exchange rates. Annual operating profit more than doubled […]

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Seoul and won rally as summit starts, while Asia tracks Wall St up

HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Seoul’s Kospi was among the best performers Friday and the won strengthened as the leaders of North and South Korea began a historic summit, while other Asian markets also enjoyed gains following a US rally. After fluctuating through the week, regional stocks were on course for a positive finish as Kim Jong Un and Moon Jae-in met on the border of the rival countries for talks expected to touch on […]

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Microsoft gets earnings boost from ‘cloud’

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Microsoft said Thursday profits rose sharply in the past quarter, lifted by gains in its core cloud computing operations for the business. The tech giant reported earnings were up 35 percent to $7.4 billion in the fiscal third quarter, with revenue rising 16 percent to $26.8 billion. Once the world’s biggest corporation, Microsoft has shifted its focus away from its consumer software to business services using its cloud computing platform […]

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Twitter reports second straight quarterly profit

  by Rob Lever Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Twitter reported its second consecutive quarterly profit Wednesday in a positive sign for the short messaging service after years in the red. The San Francisco-based social network earned $61 million in the first three months of the year, helped by strong growth in advertising revenue and modest gains in users. First-quarter revenues rose 21 percent from a year ago to $665 million, and […]

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Volkswagen sees ‘good start’ to 2018 despite slip in profits

by Michelle FITZPATRICK Agence France-Presse (AFP) — German car giant Volkswagen on Thursday reported a drop in profits but nonetheless said strong sales got the year off to “a good start”, as new CEO Herbert Diess pushes on with a post-dieselgate revamp of the behemoth. VW said it booked a net profit of 3.22 billion euros ($3.9 billion) between January and March, down nearly three percent on the same period a year earlier and slightly […]

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Samsung Electronics Q1 net profits up by more than half

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korean telecoms giant Samsung Electronics saw net profits leap by more than half in the first quarter, it said Thursday, thanks to strong demand for memory chips and its latest high-end smartphone. The firm, the world’s biggest maker of memory chips and the flagship subsidiary of the sprawling Samsung group, has recovered from a series of setbacks to post record profits in recent quarters. It faced an embarrassing global […]

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Profits up at Facebook, no impact from privacy scandal

  by Glenn Chapman Agence France Presse SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Facebook on Wednesday reported a sharp jump in profits in the past quarter, with gains in its user base and strong ad growth as the social network appeared to see no impact from a controversy over privacy. Profit in the first quarter of 2018 leapt 63 percent from a year ago to $5 billion, and total revenues increased 49 percent to $11.97 […]

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Asian markets sink with Wall St as tech firms take another hit

HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Asian markets went into reverse Wednesday, tracking fresh losses on Wall Street as investors fret about rising US Treasury yields and speculation that interest rates will rise four times this year. Technology firms were once again in the firing line in response to a plunge in Google parent Alphabet on costs worries, while Apple shares suffered a fifth straight loss because of concerns over the crucial smartphone sector. The yield […]

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Asian markets sink with Wall St as tech firms take another hit

HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Asian markets went into reverse Wednesday, tracking fresh losses on Wall Street as investors fret about rising US Treasury yields and speculation that interest rates will rise four times this year. Technology firms were once again in the firing line in response to a plunge in Google parent Alphabet on costs worries while Apple suffered a fifth straight loss because of concerns over the crucial smartphone sector. The yield on […]

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