Business

Dollar, stocks down as Trump health care blow fuels tax concerns

HONG KONG, China (AFP) — The dollar sank with most Asian equities Tuesday as two Republican senators rejected their party’s bill repealing Obamacare, effectively killing it and throwing Donald Trump’s economic agenda into doubt. Global markets soared for months after Trump’s November election on hopes his big-spending, tax-cutting policies would fire the world’s top economy. But an ongoing crisis surrounding the White House has hobbled the tycoon’s presidency, with opposition to his controversial health care […]

Continue Reading →

Tokyo stocks down at break as exporters, banks fall

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Tokyo stocks ended Tuesday morning in negative territory as a strong yen hit exporters and banks following a three-day weekend in Japan. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell 0.63 percent, or 127.00 points, to 19,991.86 by the break, falling below the key 20,000 level, while the Topix index of all first-section issues was down 0.56 percent, or 9.14 points, to stand at 1,616.34. © Agence France-Presse

Continue Reading →

Puma raises forecast after leap in sales and profits

FRANKFURT MAIN, Germany (AFP) — German sporting goods firm Puma raised its sales and profits forecasts for the full year Monday, saying it enjoyed strong second-quarter performance and was confident for the second half. The Bavaria-based firm now expects to increase sales between 12 and 14 percent, adjusting for currency effects — up from “a low double-digit percentage” increase previously. That would mean growth up to twice as fast as last year’s, when high-profile sponsorships […]

Continue Reading →

Qualcomm CEO sees settlement with Apple

ASPEN, United States (AFP) — Qualcomm chief executive Steve Mollenkopf said Monday the chipmaker’s legal war with Apple is about defending his company’s business model, but predicted an eventual out-of-court settlement. “At its core it’s really about the price… what to pay for technology,” Mollenkopf told a forum at the Fortune Brainstorm Tech conference in Aspen, Colorado. “We have contracts and people want to pay less.” But Mollenkopf said the disputes are likely to be […]

Continue Reading →

US stocks end flat to open heavy earnings week

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Wall Street stocks finished little changed Monday at the start of a week dominated by earnings from Bank of America, Netflix and other giants. Equities paused in a quiet session after both the Dow and S&P 500 finished at records on Friday following solid earnings from JPMorgan Chase and other large banks. Bank of America and Goldman Sachs report results early Tuesday, while IBM, Visa and General Electric will […]

Continue Reading →

London stock market wins China boost

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — London’s stock market rebounded Monday, with miners buoyed by solid Chinese economic growth figures, while eurozone indices were steady to slightly lower. Asia equities mostly increased in value following another record close on Wall Street before the weekend. United States stocks were essentially flat to start the week, with the Dow and S&P 500 retreating a bit from Friday’s records, but the the Nasdaq edging higher ahead of a […]

Continue Reading →

Prietos to sell Inquirer to business tycoon Ramon Ang

Prieto family says move to divest from Inquirer was a “strategic business decision” (Eagle News) — The Inquirer said Monday its owners – the Prietos — are in talks to sell the business to business tycoon Ramon Ang. Marixi Prieto, chairwoman of the Inquirer Group of Companies, said the family had decided to quit the publishing business and was in talks to sell it to the president of top Philippine conglomerate San Miguel Corp. “The […]

Continue Reading →

China second-quarter GDP growth tops forecasts on strong investment, consumption

BEIJING, China (Reuters) — China’s economy grew faster than expected in the second quarter as industrial output and consumption picked up and investment remained strong, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Monday (July 17). The economy grew 6.9 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier, the same rate as the first quarter, but analysts expect slower growth over the rest of the year as policymakers seek to reduce financial risk. Analysts polled by […]

Continue Reading →

Dow, S&P 500 end week at records; dollar tumbles

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Wall Street stocks finished at fresh records Friday following solid bank earnings, while the dollar retreated after lackluster US data raised questions about additional Federal Reserve rate hikes. The Dow and S&P 500 ended at fresh records in anticipation that teh positive bank results foreshadow a generally strong earnings period. The records, the third in a row for the Dow, capped a strong week for US stocks that some […]

Continue Reading →

China’s economy slows in second quarter: AFP survey

by Allison JACKSON Agence France Presse BEIJING, China (AFP) — China’s economy lost momentum in the second quarter, a survey shows, as Beijing’s efforts to curb risky lending and investment took a toll on the Asian powerhouse. The world’s second-largest economy expanded by 6.8 percent in the April-June period, compared with a year ago, according to the median forecast of 12 analysts polled by AFP. That follows a better-than-expected increase of 6.9 percent in the […]

Continue Reading →

Asian markets heading into weekend with gains after healthy run

HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Asian traders headed into the weekend cautiously on Friday following a broadly positive week across global equity markets after Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen indicated a softer approach to raising United States interest rates. The Dow on Wall Street posted a second-successive record as investors cheered the more dovish tone from the central bank, which has been moving to tighten monetary policy as the world’s top economy continues to pick […]

Continue Reading →

Windows Phone 8 fades out as Microsoft mulls mobile strategy

by Glenn Chapman Agence France Presse SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Microsoft has ended support for its Windows 8 smartphones, as the United States tech giant focuses on other segments, amid ongoing speculation about its strategy for mobile. Users of Windows-powered phones — which have failed badly against rivals from Apple and Google Android — were invited to upgrade to its latest Windows 10 version after Microsoft officially stopped supporting the earlier version on […]

Continue Reading →
1 … 212 213 214 215 216 … 324