BANKING
UBS reports no trading loss
UBS Group AG, Switzerland’s biggest bank, said its trading businesses did not suffer a loss in the market turmoil that erupted when the Swiss National Bank surprisingly scrapped its limit on the franc. “In aggregate, UBS did not experience negative revenues in its trading businesses in connection with the announcement,” the bank said in a statement yesterday. It said it would provide further information on its outlook for the first quarter when it releases fourth-quarter results next month.
GAMING
Galaxy expanding in Macau
Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd (銀河娛樂集團), the casino operator controlled by billionaire Lui Che-woo (呂志和), plans to spend about HK$57 billion (US$7.4 billion) more to expand in Macau and will recreate New York’s Broadway theater to woo more visitors. The company will add a 3,000-seat entertainment theater in Macau, Lui said yesterday at a press conference in Hong Kong. Galaxy has committed HK$100 billion to Macau’s Cotai strip, with a part of it already invested.
RESORTS
France clears Club Med sale
French regulators on Thursday cleared the way for Chinese conglomerate Fosun International Ltd (復星國際) to buy the holiday resorts group Club Med for about 939 million euros (just more than US$1 billion) and set Feb. 9 as the closing date for the offer. The Financial Markets Authority said that stock market operator Euronext Paris “will make known, in an announcement, the conditions for completing [the deal] and a detailed calendar.”
CONGLOMERATES
Sony may delay profit report
Sony Corp yesterday said it was asking Japanese regulators for permission to delay the release of its earnings next month after a cyberattack at its Hollywood film unit compromised “a large amount of data” on its systems. The Japanese firm said its US-based Sony Pictures Entertainment subsidiary will not have time to put together its financial statements owing to the attack linked to its controversial movie The Interview.
SPORTING GOODS
Adidas meets targets
Adidas yesterday said it met its targets for last year, but earnings were hit by special factors such as the falling ruble and the sale of its Rockport brand. Full-year sales grew 2 percent to 14.8 billion euros (US$16.7 billion) last year, and net profit “reached the earnings target of around 650 million euros,” the German company said. Adidas said these were 80 million euros in writedowns on its Russian business “as a result of the significant deterioration of the Russian ruble.” In addition, the sale of its Rockport brand would hit profits by a “double-digit million euro amount” or tens of millions euros, it said.
RETAIL
Starbucks profit jumps 82%
Starbucks Corp’s fiscal first-quarter earnings soared 82 percent as the coffee chain attracted more customers who snapped up an expanded offerings of food and drinks over the holidays. Starbucks said it earned US$983.1 million in the quarter ended Dec. 28, or US$1.30 per share. That compared with US$540.7 million or US$0.71 per share, a year earlier. The coffee chain posted revenue of US$4.8 billion in the period, beating consensus forecasts. Analysts expected US$4.79 billion, according to Zacks Investment Research.
DIVIDED VIEWS: Although the Fed agreed on holding rates steady, some officials see no rate cuts for this year, while 10 policymakers foresee two or more cuts There are a lot of unknowns about the outlook for the economy and interest rates, but US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled at least one thing seems certain: Higher prices are coming. Fed policymakers voted unanimously to hold interest rates steady at a range of 4.25 percent to 4.50 percent for a fourth straight meeting on Wednesday, as they await clarity on whether tariffs would leave a one-time or more lasting mark on inflation. Powell said it is still unclear how much of the bill would fall on the shoulders of consumers, but he expects to learn more about tariffs
NOT JUSTIFIED: The bank’s governor said there would only be a rate cut if inflation falls below 1.5% and economic conditions deteriorate, which have not been detected The central bank yesterday kept its key interest rates unchanged for a fifth consecutive quarter, aligning with market expectations, while slightly lowering its inflation outlook amid signs of cooling price pressures. The move came after the US Federal Reserve held rates steady overnight, despite pressure from US President Donald Trump to cut borrowing costs. Central bank board members unanimously voted to maintain the discount rate at 2 percent, the secured loan rate at 2.375 percent and the overnight lending rate at 4.25 percent. “We consider the policy decision appropriate, although it suggests tightening leaning after factoring in slackening inflation and stable GDP growth,”
Meta Platforms Inc offered US$100 million bonuses to OpenAI employees in an unsuccessful bid to poach the ChatGPT maker’s talent and strengthen its own generative artificial intelligence (AI) teams, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has said. Facebook’s parent company — a competitor of OpenAI — also offered “giant” annual salaries exceeding US$100 million to OpenAI staffers, Altman said in an interview on the Uncapped with Jack Altman podcast released on Tuesday. “It is crazy,” Sam Altman told his brother Jack in the interview. “I’m really happy that at least so far none of our best people have decided to take them
PLANS: MSI is also planning to upgrade its service center in the Netherlands Micro-Star International Co (MSI, 微星) yesterday said it plans to set up a server assembly line at its Poland service center this year at the earliest. The computer and peripherals manufacturer expects that the new server assembly line would shorten transportation times in shipments to European countries, a company spokesperson told the Taipei Times by telephone. MSI manufactures motherboards, graphics cards, notebook computers, servers, optical storage devices and communication devices. The company operates plants in Taiwan and China, and runs a global network of service centers. The company is also considering upgrading its service center in the Netherlands into a
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