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☆ China’s Zhengzhou, home to world’s largest iPhone factory, ends Covid lockdown
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Juliana Liu | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Hong Kong CNN Business —The central Chinese city of Zhengzhou, home to the world’s largest iPhone factory, has lifted a five-day Covid lockdown, in a move that analysts have called a much-needed relief for Apple and its main supplier Foxconn. Zhengzhou is the site of “iPhone City,” a sprawling manufacturing campus owned by Taiwanese contract manufacturer Foxconn that normally houses about 200,000 workers churning out products for Apple (AAPL), including the iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max. The troubles started in October when workers left the campus in Zhengzhou, the capital of the central province of Henan, due to Covid-related fears. Total iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max shipments in the current quarter would be 15 million to 20 million units less than previously anticipated, according to Kuo. Due to the high price of the iPhone 14 Pro series, Apple’s overall iPhone revenue in the current holiday quarter could be 20% to 30% lower than investors’ expectations, he added.

☆ Asia shares take comfort in China property rally
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Wayne Cole | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Shares of Chinese property companies surged after the country's securities regulator lifted a ban on equity refinancing for listed property firms. read moreThat helped Chinese blue chips (.CSI300) bounce 1.1%, while MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) added 0.7%. Markets were still nervous that the widening web of restrictions in China would lead to more public unrest and further undermine growth. read more"The zero China COVID policy has been an absolute gut punch to Apple's supply chain," said Daniel Ives, an analyst at Wedbush. The dollar index rallied to 106.57 , having been as low as 105.31 overnight.

☆ Apple has a huge problem at Foxconn's iPhone factory in China
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Juliana Liu | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

“Every week of this shutdown and unrest we estimate is costing Apple roughly $1 billion a week in lost iPhone sales. Now roughly 5% of iPhone 14 sales are likely off the table due to these brutal shutdowns in China,” he said. Security forces clash with workers during a protest outside Apple supplier Foxconn's factory in Zhengzhou, China, on November 23. Covid outbreakEarlier this month, Apple said shipments of its latest lineup of iPhones would be “temporarily impacted” by Covid restrictions in China. Even before this week’s demonstrations, Apple had started making the iPhone 14 in India, as it sought to diversify its supply chain away from China.

☆ Apple supplier Foxconn apologises for hiring blunder at COVID-hit China plant
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Workers said on videos circulated on social media that they had been informed that Foxconn intended to delay bonus payments. The person said the company had reached "initial agreements" with employees to resolve the dispute and production at the plant continued on Thursday. The Zhengzhou plant employs more than 200,000 people to make Apple Inc (AAPL.O) devices including the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max. Apple said it had staff at the factory and was "working closely with Foxconn to ensure their employees' concerns are addressed”. Wedbush Securities analyst Daniel Ives expects the shutdowns to cost Apple about $1 billion a week in lost iPhone sales.

A source familiar with the situation in Zhengzhou said production at the plant was unaffected by the worker unrest and output remained "normal". It makes most of the phones at the Zhengzhou plant, though it has other smaller production sites in India and southern China. Shares of Foxconn have slipped 2% since the unrest emerged in late October. Before the unrest, the Zhengzhou plant employed some 200,000 people. To retain staff and lure more workers Foxconn has had to offer bonuses and higher salaries.

"He's probably going to spend more time on Twitter than any Tesla investor feels comfortable about." Sales of Musk's own Tesla shares - totaling $20 billion since he disclosed his Twitter stake - have added to the pressure. "I think he's finally reached a point where he's really challenging himself. 'MINIMAL TIME'The Tesla board has expressed concerns about Musk's commitment to SpaceX and several smaller companies. So I think Tesla would continue to do very well even if I was kidnapped by aliens or went back to my home planet maybe."

☆ Taiwan’s virtual beauty brand struggles on Wall Street debut
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Michelle Toh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Hong Kong CNN Business —Taiwan’s latest entrant to Wall Street has had a rough ride since it went public a week ago. Perfect Corp. lends its technology to beauty and fashion brands. Perfect Corp. founder and CEO Alice Chang said she spoke to CNN Business while wearing the company's "digital makeup" on a conference call. The question was: “How can I link the virtual beauty with the real world beauty?” Chang recalled. Perfect Corp. is one of a handful of Taiwanese companies to list in the United States in recent years, according to Dealogic data.

Oct 25 (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) posted its slowest quarterly revenue growth in five years on Tuesday as the tough macroeconomic conditions hit PC sales and slowed cloud growth, which had supercharged the earnings for years. "The PC market was worse than we expected in Q1," Brett Iversen, head of Microsoft's investor relations, told Reuters. Windows OEM business, which includes the operating software Microsoft sells to PC makers, dropped 15% year-on-year. Microsoft's broader Intelligent Cloud division posted a 20% rise in revenue to $20.33 billion, almost in line with estimates of $20.37 billion, according to Refinitiv. Net income fell to $17.56 billion, or $2.35 per share, during the quarter ended Sept. 30, from $20.51 billion, or $2.71 per share, a year earlier.

☆ Tesla falls after delivery warning sparks doubts over growth momentum
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

At least five brokerages cut their price target on the stock, citing softer delivery in 2022, with Wedbush Securities making the biggest cut of $60 to bring its target to $300. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterThe stock, which is down 37% this year, fell 4.6% to $211.80 in premarket trading. In its quarterly earnings report, the company pointed to challenges it was facing on the logistics front for a potential miss in hitting the delivery growth target of 50% this year. However, with a shift to electric vehicles gaining momentum globally, some analysts expect Tesla to be a big beneficiary. (Tesla) has done a great job, there is going to be a shift to EVs," Roth Capital analyst Craig Irwin said.

Oct 20 (Reuters) - Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) said on Wednesday it expected to miss its vehicle delivery target this year, but downplayed concerns about softening demand after its revenue missed Wall Street estimates. But Tesla said some logistics challenges would persist, with fourth-quarter deliveries growing by less than 50% while production rose 50%. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register"I wouldn't say we're recession proof, but it's certainly recession resilient," Musk said. Previously, Tesla had repeatedly said it was aiming for 50% growth this year from the 936,172 cars it delivered in 2021. Tesla is expanding fast despite global economic jitters, and investors are closely watching for signs that consumer demand is cooling as inflation surges and interest rates climb.

Oct 28 (Reuters) - Elon Musk on Thursday closed the $44 billion deal announced in April to take Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) private and took ownership of the influential social media platform by firing top executives immediately. read more Earlier this month, Musk brought the deal back on the table after previously trying to walk away from it. Musk pledged to provide $46.5 billion in equity and debt financing for the acquisition, which covered the $44 billion price tag and the closing costs. That had left Musk in need for an additional $22.4 billion of funds to cover the equity financing portion of the deal. Musk would have needed to raise an additional $2 billion to $3 billion to complete the financing for the deal.

☆ Musk gets Twitter for $44 billion, to cheers and fears of 'free speech' plan
▼ + stars: | 2022-04-26 | by ( Greg Roumeliotis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Musk’s move continues a tradition of billionaires' buying control of influential media platforms, including Jeff Bezos’ 2013 acquisition of the Washington Post. [1/2] Elon Musk twitter account is seen through Twitter logo in this illustration taken, April 25, 2022. Musk, who is worth $268 billion according to Forbes, has said he is not primarily concerned with the economics of Twitter. The White House declined on Monday to comment on Musk's deal, but said President Joe Biden has long been concerned about the power of social media platforms. "The president has long talked about his concerns about the power of social media platforms, including Twitter and others, to spread misinformation."

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