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☆ Missing radioactive capsule found in Western Australia
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Australian authorities on Wednesday found a radioactive capsule that was lost in the vast Outback after nearly a week-long search along a 1,400 km (870-mile) stretch of highway, an emergency services official said. The military was verifying the capsule and it would be taken to a secure facility in the city of Perth on Thursday, Emergency Services Minister Stephen Dawson said in a news conference. The radioactive capsule was part of a gauge used to measure the density of iron ore feed from Rio Tinto's (RIO.AX) Gudai-Darri mine in the state's remote Kimberley region. The ore was being taken to a facility in the suburbs of Perth - a distance longer than the length of Great Britain. The silver capsule, 6 mm in diameter and 8 mm long, contains Caesium-137 which emits radiation equal to 10 X-rays per hour.

☆ UBS flags uncertain year ahead after profit beats forecasts
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Noele Illien | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] The logo of Swiss bank UBS is seen at an office building in Zurich, Switzerland, Oct. 25, 2022. REUTERS/Arnd WiegmannZURICH, Jan 31 (Reuters) - UBS (UBSG.S), Switzerland's biggest bank, forecast an uncertain year ahead due to the war in Ukraine and sagging client confidence on Tuesday, despite trumping expectations for 2022 with a $7.6 billion net profit. Zuercher Kantonalbank analyst Michael Klien said UBS had benefited from one-offs, including a lower than expected tax rate. SLOWDOWNUBS said it gained $23.3 billion in net new fee generating assets in wealth management, with a strong Swiss performance. UBS announced plans to buy back more than $5 billion worth of shares this year after repurchasing $5.5 billion in 2022.

☆ UBS fourth-quarter profit rises 23%; beats estimates
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Noele Illien | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ZURICH, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Switzerland's UBS Group AG (UBSG.S) on Tuesday reported a 23% increase in fourth-quarter profit, beating analyst estimates, helped by a fall in costs despite a drop in financial markets. The Swiss bank reported net profit attributable to shareholders of $1.7 billion, versus the $1.3 billion average of 21 analyst estimates in a UBS-conducted poll. "We are starting 2023 from a position of strength," Chief Executive Ralph Hamers said in a statement. Full-year net profit reached $7.6 billion, compared with the consensus estimate of $7.3 billion. UBS Chairman Colm Kelleher has said his bank has not actively sought to benefit from Credit Suisse's troubles.

"Samsung, in a roundabout way, is saying production will decrease slightly," said analyst Kim Yang-jae at Daol Investment and Securities. CHIP PROFIT TUMBLESEarlier on Tuesday, Samsung reported its lowest quarterly profit since 2014 and said persistent macroeconomic uncertainty will make for a tough first half of this year, though it expects demand to start recovering in the second half. At 4.3 trillion won ($3.49 billion), October-December operating profit was Samsung's lowest quarterly profit in eight years. Some analysts expect the chip business to book a loss in the first quarter, pulling overall profit below that of the fourth. In mobile, Samsung said fourth-quarter profit fell to 1.7 trillion won from 2.66 trillion won a year earlier, as a decline in low- and mid-end smartphone sales was greater than expected.

The 8.4 trillion yuan ($1.24 trillion) decrease in profits in 2022 followed a 34.3% rise in 2021. Frequent and widespread COVID disruptions hit production at industrial firms, hurting both supply and demand sides and putting huge upward pressure on costs, said Bruce Pang, chief economist at Jones Lang Lasalle. In 2022, profits at foreign firms slumped 9.5%, while those at private-sector firms shrank 7.2%, NBS data showed. Industrial profits data covers firms with annual revenue above 20 million yuan from their main operations. Liabilities at industrial firms rose 8.6% in 2022 from a year earlier, compared with 9.0% growth as of end-November.

At 4.3 trillion won ($3.49 billion), October-December operating profit was Samsung's lowest quarterly profit in eight years. Revenue fell 8% to 70.5 trillion won. Some analysts expect the chip business to book a loss in the first quarter, pulling overall profit below that of the fourth. Memory chip rivals Micron Technology Inc (MU.O) and SK Hynix Inc (000660.KS) had already said they would slash investment in 2023. Investors will be watching for whether Samsung avoids mentioning a direct chip production cut - as is its usual stance - or rather gives a clear signal of production cuts given the severity of the memory chip down-cycle.

☆ Samsung Electronics' Q4 profit falls 69% as device demand drops
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Samsung signage is seen in a store in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., Nov. 22, 2021. The world's biggest maker of memory chips and smartphones said October-December operating profit fell to 4.3 trillion won ($3.49 billion), its lowest quarterly profit in eight years, from 13.87 trillion won a year earlier. That compared with the company's own estimate of 4.3 trillion won earlier this month. Revenue fell 8% to 70.5 trillion won. ($1 = 1,232.6000 won)Reporting by Joyce Lee and Heekyong Yang; Editing by Christopher CushingOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ UBS sounds cautious note for year ahead after booking quarterly profit rise
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Noele Illien | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] The logo of Swiss bank UBS is seen at an office building in Zurich, Switzerland, Oct. 25, 2022. REUTERS/Arnd WiegmannZURICH, Jan 31 (Reuters) - UBS Group AG (UBSG.S) predicted an "uncertain" year ahead plagued by accelerating inflation and higher interest rates on Tuesday after the Swiss bank beat estimates in its latest quarter. In doing so, UBS cautioned that inflation, rising interest rates and war in Ukraine were clouding the future, dampening clients' mood. Full-year net profit reached $7.6 billion, compared with the consensus estimate of $7.3 billion. UBS said it attracted $23.3 billion in net new fee generating assets in wealth management, with strong performance in Switzerland.

☆ Biden continues infrastructure tour with stop in New York City on Tuesday
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Jarrett Renshaw | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 31 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden on Tuesday will visit New York City to tout new infrastructure funding for a critical underwater tunnel that connects Manhattan and New Jersey, an effort that has been mired for more than a decade in partisan bickering and ballooning budgets. The federal government, New York, and New Jersey will split the estimated price tag of $16.1 billion. Federal funding will pay for nearly half, while the two states will pick up the rest. Biden plans to tout a $292 million grant from the Transportation Department for the Hudson River Tunnel project. Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw; Additional Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Christopher CushingOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Alec Baldwin, armorer to be charged over 'Rust' shooting
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Andrew Hay | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 31 (Reuters) - Actor Alec Baldwin and armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed will be charged on Tuesday with involuntary manslaughter for the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of Western "Rust" in 2021, a New Mexico prosecutor said. A sheriff's office investigation has yet to reveal how live ammunition got onto the set outside Santa Fe. Legal analysts have said prosecutors will struggle to win convictions without proof Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed knew live ammunition was present but took no precautions. Live ammunition is strictly forbidden on sets. The armorer testified to New Mexico's worker safety agency (OSHA) on Dec. 7 that the shooting might have been prevented had she had more time to train Baldwin.

"While others tried to shut this down, I made clear this is a national priority," Biden told a group of lawmakers and supporters gathered at a rail yard at the Hudson River tunnel, the nation's busiest rail corridor. On Tuesday, Biden announced that the administration has awarded nearly $1.2 billion from the law's new national infrastructure project assistance discretionary grant program for nine projects across the country, White House officials said. [1/4] U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks touting how Infrastructure Law funding will be used for the Hudson River Tunnel project, during an event at the West Side Rail Yard in New York City, U.S., January 31, 2023. "Americans see these projects popping up across the country and it sends an important message that we're gonna work together," Biden said. The Hudson River tunnel project, known as the Gateway Program, would repair an existing tunnel and build a new one for Amtrak and state commuter lines between New Jersey and Manhattan.

☆ Factbox: Chinese chipmakers caught in U.S.-China tech spat
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Josh Horwitz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

TSMC is the world's most valuable chipmaker and counts Apple Inc (AAPL.O) and Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O) among major clients. Its government-backing and ambition to make high-end chips caught the attention of the United States which put the firm on its Entity List in 2020. To date, most of SMIC's sales are made using the outdated 45 nanometer process node and above. Since late 2020, this specialisation in older chips has proven a boon due to a global shortage of lower-end chips. It produces DRAM at the 19 nanometer node and is moving into the 17 nanometer node - process nodes behind the industry leading-edge.

NEW YORK, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Nike Inc (NKE.N) sued Lululemon Athletica Inc (LULU.O) on Monday, saying that at least four of the Canadian athletic apparel company's footwear products infringe its patents. Nike in a complaint filed in Manhattan federal court said it has suffered economic harm and irreparable injury from Lululemon's sale of its Blissfeel, Chargefeel Low, Chargefeel Mid and Strongfeel footwear. Nike said its three patents at issue concern textile and other elements, including one addressing how the footwear will perform when force is applied. Lululemon, based in Vancouver, British Columbia, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Christopher CushingOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ China's Baidu to launch ChatGPT-style bot in March -source
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Chinese internet search major Baidu Inc (9888.HK) is planning to launch an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot service similar to OpenAI's ChatGPT in March, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters. The technology firm plans to launch the service as a standalone application and gradually merge it into its search engine, said the person, who declined to be identified as the information is confidential. Baidu plans to incorporate chatbot-generated results when users make search requests, instead of only links, the person said. The company has also worked to add OpenAI's image-generation software to its Bing search engine in a new challenge to Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Google. At a developer conference last month, Baidu unveiled three AI-powered "creators" whose technology allows them to assume the roles of screenwriter, illustrator, editor or animator.

☆ U.S. to end COVID-19 emergency declarations on May 11
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Jan 30 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden's administration on Monday said it will end COVID-19 emergency declarations on May 11, nearly three years after the United States imposed sweeping pandemic measures to curb the spread of the illness. The COVID-19 national emergency and public health emergency (PHE) were put in place in 2020 by then-President Donald Trump. Biden has repeatedly extended the measures, which allow millions of Americans to receive free tests, vaccines and treatments. The government has been paying for COVID-19 vaccines, some tests and certain treatments under the PHE declaration. COVID-19 cases are declining in the United States, though more than 500 people continue to die each day from the disease, government data showed.

☆ Japan's chip equipment makers in the dark about new China export restrictions
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

TOKYO, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Japanese makers of semiconductor manufacturing machinery and materials used to make chips said on Monday they had yet to hear from Japan's government about export restrictions that could directly or indirectly affect their business in China. Without knowing the details of any new restrictions it is impossible to know their impact, he said. Its statement followed a Bloomberg report that the United States had secured a deal with the Netherlands and Japan. Among them was Tokyo Electron Ltd (8035.T), Japan's biggest semiconductor manufacturing machinery maker. Shares of Japanese semiconductor equipment makers were mostly flat on Monday, with Tokyo Electron up 0.68% while Advantest Corp (6857.T) fell 0.32%.

☆ Scholz seeks to secure more critical minerals on South America tour
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Sarah Marsh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Sebastian Rodriguez/Chilean Presidency/Handout via REUTERSSANTIAGO DE CHILE, Jan 29 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced a new, expanded commodities partnership with Chile on Sunday during a tour of South America that Berlin hopes will help secure more access to critical minerals key to the transition to a green economy. That has led to a reliance on China, which has invested widely in the mining sector in resource-rich South America and in processing commodities. Argentina and Chile sit atop South America's "lithium triangle" which holds the world's largest trove of the ultra-light battery metal. "We want to help Chile on the way to a sustainable mining sector," Scholz said in a news conference with his Chilean counterpart in Santiago de Chile on the second leg of his tour. Germany also wanted to ensure mining generated more jobs in the source countries, Scholz said.

☆ Asia shares brace for rate hikes, earnings rush
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Wayne Cole | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Asia has been no slouch either as China's swift reopening bolsters the economic outlook, with MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) up 11% in January at a nine-month high. "We also look for him to continue to push back against market pricing of rate cuts later this year." "Based on our recent Asia supply chain checks we believe iPhone 14 Pro demand is holding up firmer than expected," they added. Market pricing of early Fed easing has been a burden for the dollar, which has lost 1.5% so far this month against a basket of major currencies. read moreEarly Monday, Brent was up 79 cents at $87.45 a barrel, while U.S. crude rose 66 cents to $80.34.

☆ Japan's JERA raises FY22/23 earnings estimate on lower LNG procurement cost
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Yuka Obayashi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Higher-than-expected profit from its trading unit, JERAGM, and stronger contribution from reselling some of the super-chilled fuel by JERA, one of the world's biggest LNG buyers, when its demand was lower, also boosted its earnings, Yoshida said. The revised guideline is based on an assumption that JERA will not receive the fuel from Freeport LNG, the second-biggest U.S. LNG exporter, by the end of March, according to Yoshida. The LNG company's plant shut after a pipeline explosion on June 8, 2022 and the restart has been delayed. In November, JERA President Satoshi Onoda predicted Freeport would resume a partial operation in mid-December and its shipments to be fully back by March. Despite the delay of Freeport's restart, JERA stuck to its 110 billion loss estimate from the fire, saying lower spot LNG prices are helping to offset an impact from the delay, Yoshida said.

The stunning market selloff has cast a shadow over Adani Enterprises' secondary share sale that started on Friday. The share sale is being managed by Jefferies, India's SBI Capital Markets, Axis Capital, and ICICI Securities among others. Shares of other listed Adani firms also plummeted, with Adani Transmission Ltd (ADAI.NS), Adani Total Gas (ADAG.NS), Adani Green Energy (ADNA.NS) and Adani Ports (APSE.NS) sinking 20% each. Adani Ports, Adani Green Energy and Adani Transmission marked their worst intraday drop ever, with heavy volumes. Billionaire U.S. investor Bill Ackman said on Thursday that he found the Hindenburg report "highly credible and extremely well researched."

The 66-year-old Toyoda on Thursday announced he would step aside as leader of the company his grandfather founded from April 1 to take the role of chairman. He will hand over to Koji Sato, the 53-year-old head of Toyota's luxury Lexus brand. "It's likely that he'll remain active as chairman for a long time and continue to put his mark on Toyota." "Toyota is a public company that likes to pretend it's a family company," said John Shook, a former Toyota manager who now consults on the lean management techniques pioneered by the automaker. "Choosing someone who is much younger and with Sato's background indicates Akio recognised the time for change had come."

Adani Group has dismissed the report as baseless and said it is considering whether to take legal action against the New York-based firm. "There were heavy positions in Adani group (shares), the way they have risen in the last couple of years," said Neeraj Dewan, director at Quantum Securities in New Delhi. Shares of other listed Adani firms also plummetted, with Adani Transmission Ltd (ADAI.NS) Adani Total Gas (ADAG.NS), Adani Green Energy (ADNA.NS) and Adani Ports (APSE.NS) sinking 20% each. Adani Enterprises' net profit for the period ended Sept. 30, 2022 doubled to 9 billion Indian rupees ($110.31 million) while its total income nearly tripled to 795 billion Indian rupees, according to its share sale prospectus. The company's total liabilities as of September 2022 stood at 869 billion rupees ($10.64 billion), the prospectus showed.

TOKYO, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) chief Akio Toyoda is set to remain a dominant force inside the world's largest automaker for years to come, and will continue to influence the agenda after stepping down in April, experts and people familiar with the firm said. The 66-year-old Toyoda on Thursday announced he would step aside as leader of the company his grandfather founded from April 1 to take the role of chairman. "It's likely that he'll remain active as chairman for a long time and continue to put his mark on Toyota." "Toyota is a public company that likes to pretend it's a family company," said John Shook, a former Toyota manager who now consults on the lean management techniques pioneered by the automaker. "Choosing someone who is much younger and with Sato's background indicates Akio recognised the time for change had come."

☆ Hong Kong home prices drop 15.6% in 2022, snap 13 years of gain
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Jan 27 (Reuters) - Private home prices in Hong Kong, one of the most unaffordable territories in the world, fell 15.6% in 2022 in the first annual drop since 2008, official data showed on Friday. Prices in the Asian financial hub were weighed down by a weak economic outlook and rising mortgage costs, following a COVID-19 outbreak at the beginning of the year. December saw the seventh consecutive month of decline, the data showed, with prices down 2.0% from a month earlier to the lowest since April 2017. That compared with a revised 3.2% drop in November and a 2.6% fall in October. For 2023, real estate consultancies expect home prices to remain soft though stabilise in the second half after an expected peak in interest rates.

☆ India's Adani kicks off $2.45 bln share sale while under short-seller attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Adani Group firms lost $11 billion in market capitalisation on Wednesday after New York-based Hindenburg Research flagged concerns in a report about debt levels and the use of tax havens. Adani Group dismissed the report as baseless. Adani Enterprises, the flagship company of a conglomerate led by world's fourth-richest man, Gautam Adani, aims to use the share sale proceeds for capital expenditure and to pay debt. Adani Group has repeatedly faced and dismissed concern about debt levels. The share sale "should sail through successfully."

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