GERMANY
Investor confidence declines
A survey is showing an unexpected decline in German investor confidence following disappointing industrial production and export figures. The ZEW institute said on Tuesday its monthly index measuring investors’ economic outlook for the next six months declined to 36.3 points this month from 38.5 last month. Economists had expected an increase to 39.8. However, the index remains well above its historical average of 23.7. ZEW president Clemens Fuest said market experts remain generally positive, illustrating “their confidence in the robustness of the German economy.”
AUTOMAKERS
Ford offers hybrid upgrades
Ford Motor Co is offering free upgrades to US and Canadian hybrid customers to improve their fuel economy. The company plans to recalibrate the vehicle control systems on 77,000 Ford C-Max and Fusion hybrids and Lincoln MKZ hybrids from 2013 model year. Some customers have complained that the cars are not getting the 20 kilometers per liter fuel economy promised in Ford’s advertising. Ford will increase the maximum speed the cars can be driven in electric mode from 100kph to 137kph.
AUTOMAKERS
Investment in India doubled
Franco-Japanese auto alliance Renault-Nissan on Tuesday said it would double its investments in India to US$5 billion over the next five years as it seeks to grab market share. The investment will be spent in such areas as launching new products and adding fresh production capacity. The alliance also announced plans for a new global vehicle platform, developed from scratch in India for high-growth emerging markets. With its new products, including its relaunched Datsun brand for India, the alliance is aiming to have a 15 percent market share in a few years, without specifying a time frame.
INVESTMENT
Goldman’s earnings double
US investment bank Goldman Sachs on Tuesday reported earnings that doubled last year’s level due to a big jump in revenues from its own investments and lending. Net income came in at US$1.9 billion on revenues of US$8.6 billion for the second quarter, more than twice the year-ago profit of US$927 million on revenues of US$6.6 billion. Goldman’s per share earnings were US$3.70, well above the US$2.82 forecast by analysts. Net revenues in this area grew from US$203 million in the year-ago quarter to US$1.4 billion.
PHARMACEUTICALS
Novartis raises outlook
Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis AG has raised its outlook for the full year, despite a 5 percent net income drop in the second quarter. The company said it expects full-year sales to grow at a rate in the low single-digits, boosted by delays in generic competition against its blockbuster Diovan, a treatment for high blood pressure. Novartis yesterday said its net income fell to US$2.548 billion, down from US$2.675 billion in the same period a year ago.
MANUFACTURING
ASML’s net profit drops
ASML Holding NV, the largest equipment supplier to semiconductor makers such as Intel and Samsung, says its net profit fell to 221 million euros (US$290 million) in the second quarter, from 292 euros in the same period last year. Sales for the quarter were almost unchanged from last year at 1.2 billion euros. ASML raised its outlook for full-year sales to 5 billion euros, up from the 4.73 billion euros earlier announced.
It was late morning and steam was rising from water tanks atop the colorful, but opaque-windowed, “soapland” sex parlors in a historic Tokyo red-light district. Walking through the narrow streets, camera in hand, was Beniko — a former sex worker who is trying to capture the spirit of the area once known as Yoshiwara through photography. “People often talk about this neighborhood having a ‘bad history,’” said Beniko, who goes by her nickname. “But the truth is that through the years people have lived here, made a life here, sometimes struggled to survive. I want to share that reality.” In its mid-17th to
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday signed a letter of intent with Alaska Gasline Development Corp (AGDC), expressing an interest to buy liquefied natural gas (LNG) and invest in the latter’s Alaska LNG project, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a statement. Under the agreement, CPC is to participate in the project’s upstream gas investment to secure stable energy resources for Taiwan, the ministry said. The Alaska LNG project is jointly promoted by AGDC and major developer Glenfarne Group LLC, as Alaska plans to export up to 20 million tonnes of LNG annually from 2031. It involves constructing an 1,290km
‘MAKE OR BREAK’: Nvidia shares remain down more than 9 percent, but investors are hoping CEO Jensen Huang’s speech can stave off fears that the sales boom is peaking Shares in Nvidia Corp’s Taiwanese suppliers mostly closed higher yesterday on hopes that the US artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer would showcase next-generation technologies at its annual AI conference slated to open later in the day. The GPU Technology Conference (GTC) in California is to feature developers, engineers, researchers, inventors and information technology professionals, and would focus on AI, computer graphics, data science, machine learning and autonomous machines. The event comes at a make-or-break moment for the firm, as it heads into the next few quarters, with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s (黃仁勳) keynote speech today seen as having the ability to
NEXT GENERATION: The company also showcased automated machines, including a nursing robot called Nurabot, which is to enter service at a Taichung hospital this year Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) expects server revenue to exceed its iPhone revenue within two years, with the possibility of achieving this goal as early as this year, chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉) said on Tuesday at Nvidia Corp’s annual technology conference in San Jose, California. AI would be the primary focus this year for the company, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), as rapidly advancing AI applications are driving up demand for AI servers, Liu said. The production and shipment of Nvidia’s GB200 chips and the anticipated launch of GB300 chips in the second half of the year would propel
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