LODGING
Airbnb beats estimates
Airbnb Inc beat revenue and profit estimates in the fourth quarter of last year, bucking a wave of COVID-19 infections and heading into this year even stronger than before the pandemic. The shares jumped in extended trading. Revenue grew 78 percent to US$1.53 billion, Airbnb said in a statement on Tuesday. That beat analysts’ projections of US$1.46 billion. The San Francisco-based company reported net income of US$55 million compared with a loss of US$3.9 billion a year earlier, marking a record for the period. Earnings per share were US$0.08, beating estimates of US$0.03. Airbnb chief executive officer Brian Chesky called the results “the best year in our company’s history,” and said that the company was able to weather the pandemic because of its highly adaptable business model.
JAPAN
Tokyo stocks increase
Tokyo stocks closed sharply higher yesterday, after Wall Street rallied as fears of an imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine eased. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index closed up 2.22 percent or 595.21 points at 27,460.40, while the broader TOPIX gained 1.67 percent or 31.93 points to 1,946.63. After Wall Street stocks cheered Russia’s announcement that some of its troops on the countries’ border had started pulling back, “excess worries over the Ukraine situation eased,” supporting the Tokyo market, Okasan Online Securities Co said in a note. Among major shares, Sony Group Corp rallied 1.02 percent to ￥12,335 after announcing that capital expenditure on a joint plant with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) would rise by more than ￥100 billion (US$864 million) to US$8.6 billion.
INTERNET
Facebook settles suit
Facebook agreed to pay US$90 million to settle a decade-old privacy lawsuit accusing it of tracking users’ Internet activity even after they had logged out of the social media Web site. A proposed preliminary settlement was filed on Monday night with the US District Court in San Jose, California, and requires a judge’s approval. The accord also requires Facebook to delete data it collected improperly. Users accused the Meta Platforms Inc unit of breaching federal and state privacy and wiretapping laws by using plug-ins to store cookies that tracked when they visited outside Web sites containing Facebook “like” buttons. Facebook then allegedly compiled users’ browsing histories into profiles that it sold to advertisers. The case had been dismissed in June 2017, but was revived in April 2020 by a federal appeals court, which said users could try to prove that the company profited unjustly and violated their privacy. Facebook denied wrongdoing, but settled to avoid the costs and risks of a trial, settlement papers said.
TRANSPORTATION
AirAsia may rent flying taxis
Malaysia’s AirAsia is close to reaching an agreement to lease Vertical Aerospace Ltd flying taxis, people familiar with the matter said, adding to a raft of carriers moving into the potential market to offer short, battery-powered flights. The people asked not to be named because discussions were confidential. Avolon, an investor in Vertical, has ordered 500 of the UK start-up’s VX4 aircraft, conditioned on milestones including certification. The commitment is likely to cover more than 50 VX4 electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, two of the people said. The eVTOLs, which are in development, carry four passengers and a pilot for a target range of more than 160km, enough for short hops across or between cities.
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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