CRYPTOCURRENCIES
Coinbase reports slowdown
Coinbase Global Inc, the largest US cryptocurrency exchange, on Tuesday said that customer usage slowed at the start of the current quarter. The warning came as the company announced a second-quarter profit jump to US$1.6 billion from US$32 million a year earlier. Revenue climbed to US$2 billion from US$178 million. “It’s going to be bumpy,” Coinbase president and chief operating officer Emilie Choi said. Coinbase expects lower monthly transacting users and lower trading volume in the third quarter. The company still boosted its full-year average monthly transacting users estimates versus prior guidance.
STOCK MARKETS
HK bourse posts profit drop
Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd reported a drop in profit in the second quarter as a boom in initial public offerings and trading at the start of the year waned. Net income fell to HK$2.77 billion (US$356 million), compared with HK$2.97 billion a year earlier. “The macro backdrop will remain challenging in the months ahead, but we remain resolutely focused on continuing to enhance the attractiveness of our markets, responding to the needs of our customers and driving our business forward,” Hong Kong Exchanges chief executive officer Nicolas Aguzin said. In the second quarter, new listings raised a total of HK$74.8 billion on the exchange, a 4 percent drop from a year earlier, the bourse said.
BANKING
CBA profits up 20 percent
Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) reported an almost 20 percent rise in full-year profits yesterday, citing the country’s economic rebound after earlier COVID-19 lockdowns for the turnaround. Australia’s largest lender said that after-tax cash profits soared A$8.65 billion (US$6.35 billion) in the 12 months to June 30, as it cut provisions for loan losses after the country’s economy recovered from a pandemic-induced recession. The bank said it would embark on an A$6 billion share buyback and increased its final shareholder dividend to A$2 a share. That was more than double the A$0.98 paid out in the same period last year.
SERVICE
Deliveroo order value soars
Food delivery company Deliveroo Holdings PLC said the value of orders on its platform more than doubled in the first half, with no material impact from the wider reopening of restaurants in its biggest market, the UK, in the second quarter. Deliveroo CEO Will Shu (許子祥) said growth had remained strong for both restaurant and grocery orders even as COVID-19-related curbs eased. The company said its gross transaction value rose 102 percent to ￡3.386 billion (US$4.68 billion). The company said first-half revenue increased 82 percent to ￡922.5 million, while its core operating loss narrowed to ￡27 million from ￡30.3 million a year earlier.
ENERGY
Asian oil demand plummets
Several Asian refiners asked for less oil from Saudi Arabia for next month as steps to rein in the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 weighed on demand. Meanwhile, Asian processors are also struggling with rising crude costs at a time when complex refining margins remain well below their five-year average. At least four customers — three in Northeast Asia and one in Southeast Asia — requested smaller volumes than their contracted supplies for next month, officials at the refineries said. Saudi Arabian Oil Co notified them this week that it would give them the amounts they asked for, they said.
The Eurovision Song Contest has seen a surge in punter interest at the bookmakers, becoming a major betting event, experts said ahead of last night’s giant glamfest in Basel. “Eurovision has quietly become one of the biggest betting events of the year,” said Tomi Huttunen, senior manager of the Online Computer Finland (OCS) betting and casino platform. Betting sites have long been used to gauge which way voters might be leaning ahead of the world’s biggest televised live music event. However, bookmakers highlight a huge increase in engagement in recent years — and this year in particular. “We’ve already passed 2023’s total activity and
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) today announced that his company has selected "Beitou Shilin" in Taipei for its new Taiwan office, called Nvidia Constellation, putting an end to months of speculation. Industry sources have said that the tech giant has been eyeing the Beitou Shilin Science Park as the site of its new overseas headquarters, and speculated that the new headquarters would be built on two plots of land designated as "T17" and "T18," which span 3.89 hectares in the park. "I think it's time for us to reveal one of the largest products we've ever built," Huang said near the
China yesterday announced anti-dumping duties as high as 74.9 percent on imports of polyoxymethylene (POM) copolymers, a type of engineering plastic, from Taiwan, the US, the EU and Japan. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce’s findings conclude a probe launched in May last year, shortly after the US sharply increased tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, computer chips and other imports. POM copolymers can partially replace metals such as copper and zinc, and have various applications, including in auto parts, electronics and medical equipment, the Chinese ministry has said. In January, it said initial investigations had determined that dumping was taking place, and implemented preliminary
Intel Corp yesterday reinforced its determination to strengthen its partnerships with Taiwan’s ecosystem partners including original-electronic-manufacturing (OEM) companies such as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) and chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電). “Tonight marks a new beginning. We renew our new partnership with Taiwan ecosystem,” Intel new chief executive officer Tan Lip-bu (陳立武) said at a dinner with representatives from the company’s local partners, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the US chip giant’s presence in Taiwan. Tan took the reins at Intel six weeks ago aiming to reform the chipmaker and revive its past glory. This is the first time Tan
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