AVIATION
Rynair applies for UK license
Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair Ltd on Tuesday said that it has applied for a British operating license in case the UK leaves the EU next year without an aviation deal. Other airlines have made similar moves amid concerns that Brexit could severely disrupt air traffic between Britain and continental Europe. “Ryanair today confirmed that a subsidiary company, Ryanair UK, filed an application on Dec. 21 for an Air Operator’s Certificate with the Civil Aviation Authority in the UK,” an airline spokesman said. “This may be required for Ryanair’s three UK domestic routes in the event of a hard Brexit in March 2019.”
INTERNET
Amazon could target Target
Amazon.com Inc is to acquire discounter Target Corp, Loup Venture cofounder Gene Munster wrote in a report highlighting eight predictions for the technology industry this year. “Target is the ideal offline partner for Amazon for two reasons, shared demographic and manageable, but comprehensive store count,” Munster wrote, adding that both companies focus on mothers and families. “Getting the timing on this is difficult, but seeing the value of the combination is easy.” Market share numbers suggest a deal would be approved by regulators and Wal-Mart Stores Inc would still have a larger share than an Amazon-Target combination, Munster said.
APPAREL
Next lifts profit forecast
British apparel and home-furnishings chain Next PLC lifted its profit forecast after a better-than-expected Christmas, in an upbeat signal for UK retailers facing Brexit-related worries and the rise of online shopping. Full-priced sales under the Next brand rose 1.5 percent in the 54 days through Dec. 24, compared with the median analyst estimate for a 0.5 percent decline. The company raised its profit outlook for its current fiscal year, which ends this month, by £8 million (US$10.9 million) to a midpoint of £725 million. Sales over the Christmas period were boosted by cold, snowy weather, Next said.
INTERNET
Spotify deal challenged
Spotify AB’s US$43 million settlement with songwriters is being challenged in a new lawsuit from a publisher who has said that artists like Tom Petty and Neil Young deserve a lot more — US$1.6 billion more. Wixen Music Publishing Inc claimed in a lawsuit filed on Friday last week that Spotify has infringed upon copyrights to 10,784 songs it administers, and is seeking US$150,000 in statutory damages for each song. Spotify declined to comment. Spotify last year settled a case with songwriters in a bid to end years of fighting ahead of its planned listing on the New York Stock Exchange.
UNITED KINGDOM
Government eyes TPP
The country is interested in joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade bloc after it leaves the EU, the Financial Times newspaper said. The paper said that the government had started informal talks about joining the bloc in a bid to boost post-Brexit exports. Although the US pulled out of the talks to form the bloc nearly a year ago, other TPP countries have pledged to move forward with plans for a trade group. The TPP has so far involved only countries around the Pacific Rim, such as Japan, Canada and Mexico. However, Minister of State for Trade and Investment Greg Hands said there was no geographical restriction that would prevent Britain’s participation.
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