BANKING
China delays tech rules
Chinese regulators suspended the implementation of guidelines that would limit banks’ use of foreign technology, a person familiar with the matter said. Banks received a notice this week from the banking regulator saying that the rules need to be revised, the person said, asking not to be identified because he is not authorized to speak publicly. The guidelines, which had been due to take effect this month, have been delayed, not scrapped, the person said. Trade groups from the US, Europe and Japan this week urged China to suspend the bank technology rules, saying the policies discriminate against foreign firms and limit Chinese companies’ security options.
FOOD INDUSTRY
Nestle sales beat estimates
The world’s top packaged food maker Nestle SA yesterday posted better-than-expected growth in the first quarter despite currency exchange rates that hampered sales. The company also confirmed it expected about 5 percent growth this year. It said sales rose 0.5 percent to 20.9 billion Swiss francs (US$21.8 billion), adding that currency exchange rates, especially the strong Swiss franc, trimmed reported sales by 4.5 percent. However, organic sales rose 4.4 percent, higher than the 4.1 percent forecast by analysts polled by the Swiss financial news service AWP.
BANKING
Goldman, BofA issue debt
Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Bank of America Corp (BofA) tapped capital markets on Thursday after posting above-forecast profits as banks look to boost reserves to meet regulatory requirements. Goldman Sachs, which posted its highest earnings per share in more than five years, sold US$2 billion of perpetual preferred securities, while Bank of America, the second-largest US lender by assets, sold US$5 billion in debt. Goldman’s net income surged 40 percent to US$2.84 billion, or US$5.94 per share, from US$2.03 billion, or US$4.02, recorded a year earlier. Bank of America Corp posted profit of US$3.36 billion in the first quarter as expenses declined. Net income was US$0.27 per share, compared with a loss of US$276 million, or US$0.05 per share, in the same period a year earlier.
ENERGY
Schlumberger profits plunge
Schlumberger Ltd, the world’s largest oilfield services provider, reported its lowest first-quarter profit in four years and announced another 11,000 job cuts after customers slashed spending in response to tumbling crude prices. Net income fell to US$975 million, or US$0.76 per share, from US$1.59 billion, or US$1.21 per share, year-on-year, the company said on Thursday. That is the lowest for the period since 2011. Excluding one-time items, per-share results beat the US$0.89 average of 35 analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
TECHNOLOGY
Google alters mobile search
Google Inc is about to change the way its influential search engine recommends Web sites on smartphones and tablets in a shift that is expected to sway where millions of people shop, eat and find information. The revised formula, scheduled to be released on Tuesday, is to favor Web sites that Google defines as “mobile-friendly.” Web sites that do not fit the description are to be demoted in Google’s search results on smartphones and tablets while those meeting the criteria will be more likely to appear at the top of the rankings — a prized position that can translate into more visitors and money.
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”
Thousands of parents in Singapore are furious after a Cordlife Group Ltd (康盛人生集團), a major operator of cord blood banks in Asia, irreparably damaged their children’s samples through improper handling, with some now pursuing legal action. The ongoing case, one of the worst to hit the largely untested industry, has renewed concerns over companies marketing themselves to anxious parents with mostly unproven assurances. This has implications across the region, given Cordlife’s operations in Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia, the Philippines and India. The parents paid for years to have their infants’ cord blood stored, with the understanding that the stem cells they contained
Sales in the retail, and food and beverage sectors last month continued to rise, increasing 0.7 percent and 13.6 percent respectively from a year earlier, setting record highs for the month of March, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Sales in the wholesale sector also grew last month by 4.6 annually, mainly due to the business opportunities for emerging applications related to artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing technologies, the ministry said in a report. The ministry forecast that retail, and food and beverage sales this month would retain their growth momentum as the former would benefit from Tomb Sweeping Day