Business

Dell sells RSA cyber-security unit for $2 bn

NW YORK, United States (AFP) — Dell Technologies on Tuesday announced a $2.08 billion cash deal to sell cyber-security unit RSA to a consortium led by Symphony Technology Group. RSA specializes in defending computer systems and runs eponymous cyber-security conferences. The deal was expected to close by the end of this year. The consortium includes a teachers’ pension plan board and Alpinvest Partners. “As one of the world’s elite security brands, RSA represents a great […]

Asian markets rebound on hopes for limited virus impact

HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Asian markets rebounded Wednesday as hopes the deadly new coronavirus will have only a short-term impact on corporate earnings and economic growth prevailed. Falls on US and European markets — after Apple’s warning that it would miss its quarterly revenue forecast due to the epidemic — did not carry over to Asia. The illness, which has killed more than 2,000 people and infected over 74,000, has disputed supply chains and […]

Tokyo stocks open higher after four days of falls

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Tokyo stocks opened higher on Wednesday as investors adjusted their positions amid lingering fears over the impact of the new coronavirus on the economy. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 0.65 percent, or 151.73 points, at 23,345.53 in early trade, while the broader Topix index was up 0.56 percent, or 9.26 points, at 1,674.97. The dollar fetched 109.91 yen in early Asian trade, against 109.87 yen in New York. “Japanese […]

Asian markets fall as virus hits earnings, growth

HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Asian markets tumbled Tuesday after Apple warned the new coronavirus had hit output and demand in China, fuelling fears over the wider impact of the epidemic on corporate earnings and economic growth. Investors looked past a positive lead from European bourses to focus on the spiraling fallout from the virus that has so far killed more than 1,800 people and infected nearly 72,500, mostly in mainland China. As well as […]

Apple to miss revenue forecast as iPhone supply hit by coronavirus

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Apple announced Monday it would miss its March quarter revenue forecast and global iPhone supplies would fall because of the deadly coronavirus epidemic, triggering a fall in Asian stock markets. The COVID-19 death toll now exceeds 1,800 in China, where it has infected more than 72,000 after emerging in the central province of Hubei in December. The virus has sparked global economic jitters, with travel bans and mass quarantines […]

China to waive tariffs on US medical imports amid virus outbreak

BEIJING, China (AFP) — China will waive trade-war tariffs on imports of selected US medical equipment from March 2, the government said Tuesday, as the country battles to contain the new coronavirus epidemic. More than 72,000 people have been infected by the outbreak of the new COVID-19 strain in China, which has claimed the lives of over 1,800 people. Products that will qualify for the exemptions include patient monitors, blood transfusion equipment and instruments to […]

Japan suffers worst economic slump in five years

by Miwa SUZUKI TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan has suffered its worst quarterly GDP contraction in more than five years, with a tax hike and a deadly typhoon taking a toll on the world’s third-largest economy. The nation’s gross domestic product in the three months to December shrank 1.6 percent from the previous quarter, even before the novel coronavirus outbreak in China hit Japan, according to official data published on Monday. The quarter was marked […]

COVID-19 causing first drop in oil use in decade: IEA

  by Richard LEIN Agence France Presse Global oil demand will suffer its first quarterly drop in a decade as the COVID-19 virus lashes the economy in China and its impact ripples throughout the world, the IEA said Thursday. “Global oil demand has been hit hard by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and the widespread shutdown of China’s economy,” the International Energy Agency said in its latest monthly report. “Demand is now expected to fall by […]

Coronavirus jitters push Asian markets down

  HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Asian markets fell on Thursday after a dramatic spike in the number of coronavirus deaths and cases in mainland China, with traders concerned about the economic impact of the epidemic. Chinese authorities have changed the way they count infections from the virus — officially named COVID-19 — and the latest reports propelled the nationwide death toll to 1,355 and the infection count to nearly 60,000. Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 […]

Asian markets rebound after fresh Wall St records

HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Asian markets rebounded on Tuesday spurred by fresh Wall Street records but investors remained jittery about the global economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak in China. Eyes are on China as the world’s second-largest economy sputters back up after a forced extension to the Lunar New Year holiday because of the outbreak, which has killed more than 1,000 people and disrupted major global supply chains. After a nervous start to […]

Google HR chief stepping aside as worker activism rises

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Google on Monday confirmed that head of human resources Eileen Naughton was stepping away from her job as “vice president of people operations” at the internet company. “We’re grateful to Eileen for all she’s done and look forward to her next chapter at Google,” Sundar Pichai, the head of Google and its parent company Alphabet, said in a statement. Google added more than 70,000 employees during Naughton’s time as […]

Global stocks mixed on coronavirus but S&P 500, Nasdaq hit records

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Major US stock indices finished at fresh records Monday, shrugging off worries about the coronavirus that pressured other equity markets and drove oil prices lower. As the outbreak continued, Chinese President Xi Jinping donned a face mask while visiting medical workers and patients affected by the deadly coronavirus that has killed more than 900 people. Although parts of China remain shut down, roads in Beijing and the financial hub […]