TOKYO (AP) — Sony’s profit edged up 3% in the last quarter, weathering production setbacks from COVID-19 lockdowns in Shanghai and a trend away from video gaming as pandemic restrictions eased elsewhere. Tokyo-based Sony Corp.’s April-June profit totaled 218 billion yen ($1.6 billion), up from 212 billion yen a year earlier, the Japanese electronics and…
By Kate Holton LONDON (Reuters) -British Airways-owner IAG on Friday returned to profit for the first time since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic as demand for European flights between April and June boosted its battered finances. IAG posted an operating profit for the second quarter of 293 million euros ($300 million), compared with an…
Stocks racked up more gains Friday as Wall Street closed out its best month since November 2020, a welcome breather for investors after a punishing year for the market. The S&P 500 index, a benchmark for many stock funds, rose 1.4% and finished 9.1% higher for July. A rebound in technology stocks, big retailers and…
By Jagoda Darlak (Reuters) -Luxury eyewear company EssilorLuxottica raised its operating margins substantially in the first half of the year, it said on Friday, despite a challenging environment. The maker of Oakley and Ray-Ban sunglasses said its adjusted operating margin rose by 100 basis points to 18.4% in the six months to June 30. “We’re…
ZURICH (Reuters) -The Swiss National Bank reported a first half loss of 95.2 billion Swiss francs ($100.08 billion) on Friday, the biggest six month loss posted by the central bank since it was set up in 1907. The SNB’s results were hit by stock market declines, falling bond prices and the franc’s appreciation which severely…
By Lucy Craymer WELLINGTON (Reuters) – New Zealand is at growing risk of sliding into a recession in the second half of 2022, some economists said on Friday, as consumers and businesses fret over soaring prices and rising borrowing costs. New Zealand’s central bank is part way through an aggressive cash rate hiking cycle in…
BEIJING (AP) — China’s leaders effectively acknowledged the struggling economy won’t hit its official 5.5% growth target this year and said Thursday they will try to prop up sagging consumer demand but will stick to strict anti-COVID-19 tactics that disrupted manufacturing and trade. The announcement after a Communist Party planning meeting reflected the high cost…
By Selena Li HONG KONG – China’s well-heeled financial dealmakers are getting a crash course in austerity with pay cuts and perks reined in, as their state-owned employers respond to Beijing’s “common prosperity” drive, eight people with knowledge of the matter said. State-owned investment banks including China International Capital Corp (CICC) and Citic Securities have…
By Cynthia Kim SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s property market has abruptly gone from sizzling hot to floundering, piling pressure on some of the world’s most debt-saddled consumers as the sector experiences the fastest interest rate hikes on record. Prices of Seoul apartments last week reported their sharpest decline in 26 months, while transaction volumes…
By Daniel Leussink TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s factories ramped up output at the fastest pace in more than nine years in June as disruptions due to China’s COVID-19 curbs eased, a welcome sign for policymakers hoping the economic outlook will improve. Separate data showed retail sales rose for the fourth straight month in June, supporting…
