TECHNOLOGY
Ericsson earnings drop
Ericsson AB reported a bigger-than-expected drop in fourth-quarter earnings as margins came under pressure from a shift in the pattern of carriers’ demand for its 5G equipment. The Swedish maker of mobile networks yesterday reported an adjusted earnings before interest and taxes of 8.1 billion Swedish kronor (US$786.5 million) in the quarter, less than the analysts’ estimate of 10.74 billion kronor, according to the average in a Bloomberg survey. The Stockholm-based company said first-quarter earnings before interest, taxes and amortization excluding restructuring charges, would also be “somewhat lower” than a year ago, and forecast lower margins on its networks business in the first half of the year. Cost-savings initiatives would start to have an effect beginning in the second quarter, the company said in the statement.
INDIA
Google complies with court
Google would cooperate with India’s antitrust authority after the country’s top court upheld an antitrust order forcing the US firm to change how it markets its popular Android platform, the company said yesterday. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) ruled in October last year that Google, owned by Alphabet Inc, exploited its dominant position in Android and told it to remove restrictions on device makers, including those related to pre-installation of apps. It also fined Google US$161 million. On Thursday, Google lost a challenge in the Supreme Court to block the directives, getting seven days to comply. “We remain committed to our users and partners and will cooperate with the CCI on the way forward,” a Google spokesperson said in a statement.
TELECOMS
T-Mobile reports data theft
The US wireless carrier T-Mobile US Inc said on Thursday that an unidentified malicious intruder breached its network in November last year and stole data on 37 million customers, including addresses, phone numbers and dates of birth. T-Mobile said in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission that the breach was discovered on Jan. 5. It said the data exposed to theft — based on its investigation — did not include passwords or PINs, bank account or credit card information, Social Security numbers or other government IDs. “Our investigation is still ongoing, but the malicious activity appears to be fully contained at this time,” T-Mobile said, with no evidence the intruder was able to breach the company’s network. It said the data was first accessed on or around Nov. 25 last year.
CONSUMER GOODS
P&G sales slip on inflation
Procter & Gamble Co (P&G), the maker of iconic household products such as Crest toothpaste, Tide detergent and Charmin toilet paper, is seeing shoppers cut back some of their purchases as they push back on price hikes. The company said on Thursday that sales slipped 1 percent in the quarter ending Dec. 31 last year, the first quarterly sales decline since mid-2017. Meanwhile, the number of products it sells globally fell 6 percent in the quarter — half of that was because shoppers reduced purchases, while the rest was due to inventory productions, it said. Profits also fell 7 percent in the quarter. P&G said it had to hike prices by 10 percent in the latest quarter and would keep raising prices as it seeks to offset higher costs in transportation, labor and other areas.
TECHNOLOGY
Ericsson earnings drop
Ericsson AB reported a bigger-than-expected drop in fourth-quarter earnings as margins came under pressure from a shift in the pattern of carriers’ demand for its 5G equipment. The Swedish maker of mobile networks yesterday reported an adjusted earnings before interest and taxes of 8.1 billion Swedish kronor (US$786.5 million) in the quarter, less than the analysts’ estimate of 10.74 billion kronor, according to the average in a Bloomberg survey. The Stockholm-based company said first-quarter earnings before interest, taxes and amortization excluding restructuring charges, would also be “somewhat lower” than a year ago, and forecast lower margins on its networks business in the first half of the year. Cost-savings initiatives would start to have an effect beginning in the second quarter, the company said in the statement.
INDIA
Google complies with court
Google would cooperate with India’s antitrust authority after the country’s top court upheld an antitrust order forcing the US firm to change how it markets its popular Android platform, the company said yesterday. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) ruled in October last year that Google, owned by Alphabet Inc, exploited its dominant position in Android and told it to remove restrictions on device makers, including those related to pre-installation of apps. It also fined Google US$161 million. On Thursday, Google lost a challenge in the Supreme Court to block the directives, getting seven days to comply. “We remain committed to our users and partners and will cooperate with the CCI on the way forward,” a Google spokesperson said in a statement.
TELECOMS
T-Mobile reports data theft
The US wireless carrier T-Mobile US Inc said on Thursday that an unidentified malicious intruder breached its network in November last year and stole data on 37 million customers, including addresses, phone numbers and dates of birth. T-Mobile said in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission that the breach was discovered on Jan. 5. It said the data exposed to theft — based on its investigation — did not include passwords or PINs, bank account or credit card information, Social Security numbers or other government IDs. “Our investigation is still ongoing, but the malicious activity appears to be fully contained at this time,” T-Mobile said, with no evidence the intruder was able to breach the company’s network. It said the data was first accessed on or around Nov. 25 last year.
CONSUMER GOODS
P&G sales slip on inflation
Procter & Gamble Co (P&G), the maker of iconic household products such as Crest toothpaste, Tide detergent and Charmin toilet paper, is seeing shoppers cut back some of their purchases as they push back on price hikes. The company said on Thursday that sales slipped 1 percent in the quarter ending Dec. 31 last year, the first quarterly sales decline since mid-2017. Meanwhile, the number of products it sells globally fell 6 percent in the quarter — half of that was because shoppers reduced purchases, while the rest was due to inventory productions, it said. Profits also fell 7 percent in the quarter. P&G said it had to hike prices by 10 percent in the latest quarter and would keep raising prices as it seeks to offset higher costs in transportation, labor and other areas.
ENERGY ISSUES: The TSIA urged the government to increase natural gas and helium reserves to reduce the impact of the Middle East war on semiconductor supply stability Chip testing and packaging service provider ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光投控) yesterday said it planned to invest more than NT$100 billion (US$3.15 billion) in building a new advanced chip testing facility in Kaohsiung to keep up with customer demand driven by the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. That would be included in the company’s capital expenditure budget next year, ASE said. There is also room to raise this year’s capital spending budget from a record-high US$7 billion estimated three months ago, it added. ASE would have six factories under construction this year, another record-breaking number, ASE chief operating officer Tien Wu
The EU and US are nearing an agreement to coordinate on producing and securing critical minerals, part of a push to break reliance on Chinese supplies. The potential deal would create incentives, such as minimum prices, that could advantage non-Chinese suppliers, according to a draft of an “action plan” seen by Bloomberg. The EU and US would also cooperate on standards, investments and joint projects, as well as coordinate on any supply disruptions by countries like China. The two sides are additionally seeking other “like-minded partners” to join a multicountry accord to help create these new critical mineral supply chains, which feed into
For weeks now, the global tech industry has been waiting for a major artificial intelligence (AI) launch from DeepSeek (深度求索), seen as a benchmark for China’s progress in the fast-moving field. More than a year has passed since the start-up put Chinese AI on the map in early last year with a low-cost chatbot that performed at a similar level to US rivals. However, despite reports and rumors about its imminent release, DeepSeek’s next-generation “V4” model is nowhere in sight. Speculation is also swirling over the geopolitical implications of which computer chips were chosen to train and power the new
TECH WINNERS: Taiwan and South Korea reported robust trade, which suggests that they have critical advantages in the rapidly expanding AI supply chain, an official said Exports last month surged to a new high, as booming demand tied to artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure fueled shipments of advanced technology components, underscoring the nation’s pivotal role in the global semiconductor supply chain. Outbound shipments climbed to US$80.18 billion, the highest ever for a single month, rising 61.8 percent from a year earlier and marking the 29th consecutive month of growth, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. “The surge was driven primarily by global investment in AI infrastructure,” Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) said. The mass production of next-generation AI computing systems has accelerated procurement across the semiconductor supply
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