REAL ESTATE
US house sales jump 4.7%
Americans snapped up more homes last month, suggesting that the US housing sector remains insulated from global economic turmoil. The National Association of Realtors on Thursday said sales of existing homes jumped 4.7 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.55 million. Sales have advanced 8.8 percent over the past 12 months, while the number of listings has declined 3.1 percent, the association said.
MACROECONOMICS
French output picks up
French economic output picked up this month to the fastest in four months as growth in manufacturing and services accelerated. A composite index of both industries by Markit Economics rose to 52.3 from 51.9 last month, moving further above the 50 level that divides expansion from contraction. A gauge of services activity increased to 52.3 from 51.9, while a factory output measure jumped to a 19-month high. On Thursday, France’s business confidence climbed to its strongest in four years this month.
AUTOMAKERS
Kia takes profit hit
South Korea’s Kia Motors Inc yesterday said that weakening demand in the world’s largest auto market, China, contributed to a more than 16 percent drop in third-quarter profit. The company said its net profit for the July-September period had fallen 16.3 percent year-on-year to 550 billion won (US$487 million). In a conference call, Kia chief financial officer Han Chun-soo said the company hoped to boost market share by taking advantage of a purchase tax reduction being offered by Beijing on car models with smaller engines.
MANUFACTURING
3M to slash 1,500 jobs
3M Co on Thursday said it plans to cut up to 1,500 jobs as part of a restructuring plan as it reported declines in its overall third-quarter profit and revenue. The maker of Post-it notes, industrial coatings and ceramics said it is cutting jobs as part of a plan to “strengthen its competitiveness.” 3M reported a slight drop in net income to just under US$1.3 billion, even as a decline in shares outstanding for the latest quarter resulted in a boost in the earnings per share figure to US$2.05. Revenue, meanwhile, fell 5.2 percent to US$7.7 billion.
FAST FOOD
McDonald’s sees Q3 boost
McDonald’s on Thursday reported higher earnings, capitalizing on positive buzz from a new buttermilk chicken sandwich and other product tweaks to break a two-year streak of falling US comparable sales. The fast-food giant, which has been in turnaround mode under new chief executive Steve Easterbrook, reported third-quarter net income of US$1.3 billion, up 22.5 percent from the year-ago period. Revenues fell 5.3 percent to US$6.6 billion, dented by the strong dollar in overseas markets, while global comparable sales rose 4.0 percent, including a 0.9 percent gain in the US.
TELCOS
Earnings forecast revised
AT&T Inc boosted its earnings outlook for this year and posted profit that exceeded analysts’ estimates, using tablet promotions to win wireless subscribers while also adding DirecTV satellite-TV customers. The company revised its earnings forecast to between US$2.68 and US$2.74 a share, topping the US$2.64 average of analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Earnings excluding some items were 74 cents a share last quarter, AT&T said on Thursday.
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],”
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
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