JAPAN
S&P lowers ratings
Standard and Poor’s (S&P) yesterday said it had lowered the nation’s long-term sovereign credit ratings to “AA-” from AA, citing the impact of high deficits on the country’s fiscal flexibility in coming years. “The downgrade reflects our appraisal that Japan’s government debt ratios — already among the highest for rated sovereigns — will continue to rise further than we envisaged before the global economic recession hit the country and will peak only in the mid-2020s,” the ratings agency said.
ELECTRONICS
NEC’s net loss triples
Japan’s NEC said yesterday its net loss in the October-December quarter almost tripled from a year earlier, blaming a delay in the recovery of IT-related capital investment in the country. The firm said it logged a ￥26.5 billion (US$322 million) net loss for the fiscal third quarter, compared with a loss of ￥9.61 billion in the same period a year earlier. Its operating loss nearly doubled to ￥13.5 billion, from ￥7.5 billion a year earlier, on revenue of ￥720.72 billion, which was down 13 percent from ￥825.4 billion. For the full fiscal year through March, the company stuck to its forecast of a net profit of ￥15 billion and operating profit of ￥100 billion on revenue of ￥3.3 trillion.
PHARMACEUTICALS
Novartis net profits up 18%
Swiss pharmaceutical group Novartis said yesterday that its annual net profit grew by 18 percent last year as strong sales helped it stay in line with forecasts. However, the company hinted that its performance this year might be affected by moves by cash-strapped governments to cut costs and US health reforms. Net profit reached US$9.97 billion, the group said in a statement. Sales grew by 14 percent year on year to US$50.6 billion.
TELECOMS
Motorola Mobility sees loss
Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc, the mobile-phone maker spun off from Motorola Inc, forecast a loss for the first quarter as Asian rivals boost handset shipments and Apple Inc prepares to widen sales of its iPhone. The company said it expects a loss, excluding some compensation and amortization costs, of US$0.09 to US$0.21 a share this quarter in a statement today. Analysts had estimated a profit of US$0.01 per share, according to a Bloomberg survey.
AUTOMOBILES
Hyundai’s profit rises 48%
Hyundai Motor, South Korea’s top automaker, posted a record quarterly profit, driven by new models and an improving brand image that fuelled strong sales overseas. The company yesterday reported a 48 percent jump in October-December net profit to 1.4 trillion won (US$1.26 billion), beating a consensus forecast of 1.35 trillion won from Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. It has set a target of 8 percent volume growth this year or 3.9 million cars.
ENTERTAINMENT
Disney plans China store
Walt Disney Co said yesterday it planned to open its first store in China by the middle of next year as it moves to further expand its presence in the fast-growing market. It said its strategy would be to secure locations in upscale shopping centers and department stores, where it will open Disney Stores similar to those in Europe and North America. The Shanghai Disneyland will be the US entertainment giant’s third theme park in Asia, after those in Tokyo and Hong Kong.
NEW IDENTITY: Known for its software, India has expanded into hardware, with its semiconductor industry growing from US$38bn in 2023 to US$45bn to US$50bn India on Saturday inaugurated its first semiconductor assembly and test facility, a milestone in the government’s push to reduce dependence on foreign chipmakers and stake a claim in a sector dominated by China. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened US firm Micron Technology Inc’s semiconductor assembly, test and packaging unit in his home state of Gujarat, hailing the “dawn of a new era” for India’s technology ambitions. “When young Indians look back in the future, they will see this decade as the turning point in our tech future,” Modi told the event, which was broadcast on his YouTube channel. The plant would convert
‘SEISMIC SHIFT’: The researcher forecast there would be about 1.1 billion mobile shipments this year, down from 1.26 billion the prior year and erasing years of gains The global smartphone market is expected to contract 12.9 percent this year due to the unprecedented memorychip shortage, marking “a crisis like no other,” researcher International Data Corp (IDC) said. The new forecast, a dramatic revision down from earlier estimates, gives the latest accounting of the ongoing memory crunch that is affecting every corner of the electronics industry. The demand for advanced memory to power artificial intelligence (AI) tasks has drained global supply until well into next year and jeopardizes the business model of many smartphone makers. IDC forecast about 1.1 billion mobile shipments this year, down from 1.26 billion the prior
People stand in a Pokemon store in Tokyo on Thursday. One of the world highest-grossing franchises is celebrated its 30th anniversary yesterday.
Zimbabwe’s ban on raw lithium exports is forcing Chinese miners to rethink their strategy, speeding up plans to process the metal locally instead of shipping it to China’s vast rechargeable battery industry. The country is Africa’s largest lithium producer and has one of the world’s largest reserves, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). Zimbabwe already banned the export of lithium ore in 2022 and last year announced it would halt exports of lithium concentrates from January next year. However, on Wednesday it imposed the ban with immediate effect, leaving unclear what the lithium mining sector would do in the
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