APPAREL
Nike Q2 earnings rise
Nike on Tuesday reported higher second-quarter earnings behind increased sales in key markets, including China, and said it was making progress in cutting inventory in North America. Executives gave an upbeat outlook on China, where sales jumped 12 percent to US$1.1 billion. Net income for the quarter ending on Nov. 30 rose 7 percent to US$842 million. Sales rose 6 percent to US$8.2 billion. Gross profit margins contracted company-wide. Analysts have expressed worry about Nike’s profit outlook in North America due to excessive supply of athletics goods being deeply discounted in US stores this holiday season.
AID
More help for Iraq
The World Bank on Tuesday announced an additional US$1.5 billion aid package for Iraq to help implement reforms, improve public services and boost the economy. The package includes loan guarantees from the UK for about US$372 million, and from Canada for about US$72 million. “Despite an ongoing war and low oil prices, Iraq is undertaking bold transformational reforms that will safeguard economic stability and lay the foundations for longer term private sector development and inclusive growth for all Iraqis,” World Bank director for the Middle East Ferid Belhaj said.
STOCK EXCHANGES
London group in talks
The London Stock Exchange Group on Tuesday said that it was in “exclusive” talks to sell the French arm of its majority-owned clearing business to Euronext, part of the British company’s efforts to win regulatory approval for a merger with Deutsche Borse. The Deutsche Borse merger with the London Stock Exchange Group would create Europe’s largest stock market operator by far, combining exchanges in Britain, Germany and Italy. However, EU antitrust regulators opened an “in-depth” investigation into the deal in September over its potential impact on competition in financial markets.
BEVERAGES
Coca-Cola buying stake
Coca-Cola Co has entered a deal to buy Anheuser-Busch InBev NV’s 54.5 percent stake in Coca-Cola Beverages Africa for US$3.15 billion, the companies said yesterday. In addition, the companies have reached an agreement for Coca-Cola to buy AB InBev’s interest in bottling operations in five African nations, El Salvador and Honduras for an undisclosed amount, according to a statement. Coca-Cola plans to hold all of these territories temporarily until they can be refranchised to other partners, according to the statement. The Atlanta-based company has announced plans to speed up refranchising of its bottling operations as it seeks to reduce exposure to facilities that are more capital intensive and low margin.
LOGISTICS
FedEx Q2 profit drops
FedEx Corp’s second-quarter profit fell short of analysts’ estimates as the operator of the world’s biggest air-freight carrier boosted spending on ground delivery, its complementary business. Operating income fell 12 percent in the ground operation as investment in network expansion fueled a rise in costs, FedEx said in a statement on Tuesday. FedEx is spending about US$2 billion this year as it expands sorting hubs and distribution centers, and increases automation to handle growing e-commerce shipments. Adjusted earnings were US$2.80 a share for the quarter that ended on Nov. 30, trailing the US$2.91 average of analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
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
RECORD-BREAKING: TSMC’s net profit last quarter beat market expectations by expanding 8.9% and it was the best first-quarter profit in the chipmaker’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which counts Nvidia Corp as a key customer, yesterday said that artificial intelligence (AI) server chip revenue is set to more than double this year from last year amid rising demand. The chipmaker expects the growth momentum to continue in the next five years with an annual compound growth rate of 50 percent, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors yesterday. By 2028, AI chips’ contribution to revenue would climb to about 20 percent from a percentage in the low teens, Wei said. “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the
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],”