BIOTECHNOLOGY
Gottlieb exit rattles market
The NASDAQ Biotechnology Index, a closely watched gauge of investor sentiment, reversed an intraday rally on Tuesday to fall as much as 0.6 percent in late afternoon trading that US Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb announced that he would leave his post next month. Drugmakers including Incyte Corp, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc, Nektar Therapeutics, Mylan NV and Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc were among those that saw some of the biggest declines. Gottlieb was universally respected and his departure could potentially disrupt how medicine is practiced, Loncar Investments CEO Brad Loncar said. Gottlieb was among those pushing for faster approvals of copycat drugs and touted a brisk pace of generic approvals among options to lower drug prices. He also led a movement toward quicker approvals in biotechnology’s fastest-growing fields, such as gene therapies.
ENTERTAINMENT
Hello Kitty to get new film
Sanrio Co Ltd yesterday announced that it would team up with New Line Productions Inc and FlynnPicture Co to create an English-language Hello Kitty film for global audiences, with Warner Bros Entertainment Inc as distributor. The iconic cat, first designed in 1974 with a trademark pink bow, is to be turned into a movie character after nearly five years of talks to secure the film rights. The new partnership also includes film rights to Sanrio’s other creations. Shares in Sanrio, which develops cartoon characters and merchandise items, jumped as much as 12.1 percent in Tokyo, marking the biggest intraday gain since March 16, 2011. Investors are expecting a recovery in Sanrio’s earnings in the next fiscal year, even as the company is on course to see its fifth year of profit declines. Shares are up 17 percent since the start of this year. Hello Kitty follows a trend of US and Japanese companies teaming up to bring Japan’s beloved characters to Hollywood, including Pokemon Detective Pikachu.
MANUFACTURING
GE falls after CEO’s warning
General Electric Co (GE) on Tuesday tumbled after CEO Larry Culp warned that the beleaguered manufacturer would have negative industrial free cash flow this year. The gloomy outlook is due to continued hurdles in the company’s power equipment division, Culp told a conference in New York. GE brought in US$4.5 billion of industrial free cash flow last year. Significant headwinds to this year’s cash flow would “meaningfully lessen” next year and in 2021, GE said. Culp’s comments underscored how far he has to go to turn around a company struggling with challenges across multiple business lines. The firm’s shares sank 6.1 percent to US$9.75 at 1:32pm in New York after sliding as much as 7.7 percent for the biggest intraday decline in more than three months.
INVESTMENT
Moody’s cuts Oman to ‘junk’
Moody’s Investors Service cut Oman’s rating to “junk” amid skepticism that the nation’s weakening fiscal metrics will not improve anytime soon. The ratings company lowered the country by one notch to “Ba1,” one level below investment grade, with a “negative” outlook. Moody’s forecast that Oman’s fiscal deficit will remain high, ranging from 7 percent to 11 percent of GDP in the next three years. “This view is underscored by delays of measures that were announced in early 2018 and that Moody’s expected would be implemented during 2018-2019,” the agency said in a statement.
Intel Corp chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武) is expected to meet with Taiwanese suppliers next month in conjunction with the opening of the Computex Taipei trade show, supply chain sources said on Monday. The visit, the first for Tan to Taiwan since assuming his new post last month, would be aimed at enhancing Intel’s ties with suppliers in Taiwan as he attempts to help turn around the struggling US chipmaker, the sources said. Tan is to hold a banquet to celebrate Intel’s 40-year presence in Taiwan before Computex opens on May 20 and invite dozens of Taiwanese suppliers to exchange views
Application-specific integrated circuit designer Faraday Technology Corp (智原) yesterday said that although revenue this quarter would decline 30 percent from last quarter, it retained its full-year forecast of revenue growth of 100 percent. The company attributed the quarterly drop to a slowdown in customers’ production of chips using Faraday’s advanced packaging technology. The company is still confident about its revenue growth this year, given its strong “design-win” — or the projects it won to help customers design their chips, Faraday president Steve Wang (王國雍) told an online earnings conference. “The design-win this year is better than we expected. We believe we will win
Chizuko Kimura has become the first female sushi chef in the world to win a Michelin star, fulfilling a promise she made to her dying husband to continue his legacy. The 54-year-old Japanese chef regained the Michelin star her late husband, Shunei Kimura, won three years ago for their Sushi Shunei restaurant in Paris. For Shunei Kimura, the star was a dream come true. However, the joy was short-lived. He died from cancer just three months later in June 2022. He was 65. The following year, the restaurant in the heart of Montmartre lost its star rating. Chizuko Kimura insisted that the new star is still down
While China’s leaders use their economic and political might to fight US President Donald Trump’s trade war “to the end,” its army of social media soldiers are embarking on a more humorous campaign online. Trump’s tariff blitz has seen Washington and Beijing impose eye-watering duties on imports from the other, fanning a standoff between the economic superpowers that has sparked global recession fears and sent markets into a tailspin. Trump says his policy is a response to years of being “ripped off” by other countries and aims to bring manufacturing to the US, forcing companies to employ US workers. However, China’s online warriors
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