DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ China's 2022 smartphone shipments the lowest in 10 years, research firm says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SHANGHAI, Jan 29 (Reuters) - China's smartphone sales fell 13% year-on-year in 2022, the largest plunge for the sector in a decade as consumers spent cautiously, market research firm IDC said on Sunday. That meant total 2022 sales volume was the lowest since 2013 and the first time since then that annual sales have dropped below 300 million, IDC said in a report. Its total shipments fell 25.1% year-on-year, however. The plunge in smartphone sales in China reflected the sector's performance globally. In 2022, global smartphone shipments hit 1.2 billion, the lowest since 2013 and a year-on-year fall of more than 11%, according to IDC.

☆ China's 2022 smartphone shipments the lowest in 10 years - research firm
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

☆ Smartphone shipments plunge to a low not seen since 2013 — their largest ever decline
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Apple maintained its position as the world's largest smartphone maker by shipments in the fourth quarter of 2022, according to IDC. Global smartphone shipments plunged in the fourth quarter of 2022 — usually a big holiday shopping period — thanks to macroeconomic weakness and soft consumer demand, according to market research firm IDC. The U.S. tech giant shipped 72.3 million iPhones in the fourth quarter, down 14.9% year on year, IDC said. Samsung, the second-largest smartphone player, saw shipments decline 15.6% year on year to 58.2 million units. That was the biggest decline among the top five smartphone players, which also include Chinese smartphone makers Oppo and Vivo.

☆ They Poured Their Savings Into Homes That Were Never Built
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Isabelle Qian | Agnes Chang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +13 min

We talked to four people who emptied their life savings and took out huge loans for homes that have not been completed. “It was a simple dream — to have a home, a family,” Mr. Tang said. Mr. Tang, who works in a restaurant, sold a small place he had out in the countryside. “When I think about the unfinished apartment, it’s as if I’m falling from heaven to hell, ” Mr. Tang said. Homeowners atop one of the unfinished apartment towers call for construction to fully resume.

☆ Apple wants to manufacture 25% of its iPhones in India, minister says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Apple is looking to manufacture 25% of all of its iPhones in India, the country's commerce minister said Monday. Apple has been manufacturing iPhones in India since 2017, but these were usually older models. JPMorgan analysts said in a note from September that Apple could make 25% of all iPhones globally in India by 2025. Apple has been looking to diversify production away from China, where it currently makes the bulk of its iPhones. Apple has just a 5% market share in India's smartphone market, but CEO Tim Cook has long-seen India as a potential area for growth.

☆ Top Wall Street analysts pick these stocks to climb 2023’s wall of worry
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Tipranks.Com Staff | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

To help with the process, here are five stocks chosen by Wall Street's top analysts, according to TipRanks, a platform that ranks analysts based on their past performances. Nonetheless, Monness Crespi Hardt analyst Brian White expects the results to be in line with, or marginally above, Street expectations. Looking ahead, White sees pent-up demand for iPhones come into play in the forthcoming quarters, once Apple overcomes the production snags. (See Spotify Stock Chart on TipRanks) White is particularly upbeat about the waning mobile app store monopolies, after the European Union passed the Digital Markets Act last year. The analyst is also placed 431st among more than 8,000 analysts on TipRanks.

China said last Saturday that nearly 60,000 people with COVID died in hospitals between Dec. 8 and Jan. 12 - a roughly ten-fold increase from previous disclosures. However, that number excludes those who die at home, and some doctors in China have said they are discouraged from putting COVID on death certificates. China's chaotic exit from a regime of mass lockdowns, travel restrictions and frequent COVID testing, has also prompted a run on drugs as people fend for themselves against the disease. To meet soaring demand, drugmakers in China are ramping up operations to triple their capacity to make key fever and cough medicines, the state-run China Daily reported on Thursday. Medical facilities are relatively weak in rural areas, thus prevention is difficult and the task is arduous," Xi said, adding that the elderly were a top priority.

☆ Apple supplier Foxconn replaces iPhone business chief- Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 17 (Reuters) - Taiwan's Foxconn (2317.TW) has appointed Michael Chiang as the new boss for its iPhone assembly business after a tumultuous year in China, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. Chiang replaces longtime leader Wang Charng-yang as head of the iPhone assembly division, the Bloomberg report said. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Chiang's appointment is part of Foxconn Chairman Young Liu's efforts to elevate younger executives to maintain the company's supply chain leadership in the face of growing competition from Chinese contenders, the Bloomberg report said. Reporting by Lavanya Ahire in Bengaluru; Editing by Dhanya Ann Thoppil and Nivedita BhattacharjeeOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ China's Dec home prices fall, more supportive policies likely
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Analysts say the property sector is showing signs of recovery, but it remains uneven and more supportive policies are needed to revive sentiment in the battered market. From a year earlier, prices fell for the eighth month in a row, dropping 1.5% from a 1.6% slump in November. Prices in tier-one cities remained unchanged from a month earlier in December from a decline of 0.2% in November. To relax restrictions on borrowing for property developers, regulators will improve the "three red lines" rule for 30 pilot firms, state media Xinhua reported last week. The policy restricts the amount of new borrowing property developers can raise each year by placing caps on their debt ratios.

☆ Boeing 737 MAX Flies Again With Chinese Airline After Nearly Four-Year Halt
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Rachel Liang | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Chinese airlines operated nearly 100 737 MAX aircraft as of the end of 2021. SINGAPORE—A Boeing Co. 737 MAX jetliner operated by China Southern Airlines took off from Guangzhou on Friday, in what industry experts say is the first commercial flight in nearly four years by a Chinese airline using the aircraft. According to customer service information available on China Southern’s website, the jet took off at 12:46 p.m. local time from the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou and was heading to Zhengzhou.

The China Southern Airlines Co Ltd (600029.SS) domestic flight from Guangzhou to Zhengzhou departed at 12:45 p.m. (0445 GMT) using a MAX plane, according to flight tracking website FlightRadar24. China Southern had scheduled a return to commercial service for the 737 MAX in October 2022 but did not use it on the planned flights. Boeing and China Southern did not immediately respond to a request for comment. China Southern is the biggest Chinese customer for the model, with 50 on order, of which 34 have been delivered. In 2022, Boeing delivered eight airplanes to China while Airbus delivered more than 100.

☆ Boeing 737 Max 8 takes off in China for the first time since 2019
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Pierre Meilhan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —A Boeing 737 Max 8 took off in China on Friday, for the first time since the government grounded all 737 Max 8 planes in 2019, according to the flight tracking website, Flightradar24. In March 2019, Chinese aviation authorities instructed airlines in the country to ground all their Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, citing the need for “strict control of safety risks.” The decision followed two 737 Max 8 crashes in Ethiopia in 2019 and Indonesia in 2018. The Boeing 737 Max 8 that took off Friday is operated by China Southern Airlines and traveled from Guangzhou to Zhengzhou, according to Flightradar24. The SEC had alleged that, following an October 2018 crash of a Lion Air 737 Max jet that killed 189 people, Boeing and Muilenburg knew that part of the plane’s flight control system posed an ongoing safety concern yet told the public that the 737 Max was safe to fly. After a March 10, 2019 fatal 737 Max crash, the SEC alleged that Boeing and Muilenburg knowingly misled the public about “slips” and “gaps” in the certification process of that flight control system.

☆ Boeing's long road to the 737 MAX's return in China
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] A China Southern Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft is seen grounded at a storage area in an aerial photo at Boeing Field in Seattle, Washington, July 1, 2019. AUG. 11 - A Boeing MAX test plane flies in China as the manufacturer works with the regulator on its return. JUNE 15 - A China Southern MAX conducts test flights for the first time since March. SEPT. 14 - China's aviation regulator meets with Boeing about the MAX's return. 2023JAN. 11 - China Southern schedules commercial flights with the MAX for Jan. 13JAN. 13 - A China Southern MAX flies from Guangzhou to Zhengzhou, marking the model's return to Chinese passenger service.

☆ China Southern flags 737 MAX flight in possible return of model
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The scheduled flight is a domestic journey from the southern city of Guangzhou to Zhengzhou, the app showed. China Southern had also initially scheduled a return to commercial service for the 737 MAX in October 2022 but did not use it on the planned flights. Boeing said it would defer to airlines to comment on flight operations, while China Southern did not respond immediately to a request for comment. The 737 MAX was grounded in March 2019 following fatal crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia but has returned to service around the world with the exception of China and Russia after modifications to the aircraft and pilot training. Foreign airlines began flying the 737 MAX to China in October 2022.

☆ Barclays cuts Apple price target on concerns over demand weakness, slowing services growth
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Ashley Capoot | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Barclays recently cut its Apple price target from $144 per share to $133 per share, noting it's concerned that Apple Services estimates are "at risk." The firm lowered its revenue estimate by 7% for the quarter to account for slowing services growth, production problems and weakening demand. "What started out as production driven cuts has moved to demand weakness across product categories," they wrote in a Tuesday note. Apple struggled with iPhone 14 Pro shipments during the holiday season because of Covid restrictions on its primary factory in China. Foxconn has attempted to entice workers back with bonuses, and Reuters reported that Foxconn's Zhengzhou factory is almost back to full production.

☆ White-Collar Recession: Why Job Cuts Are Hitting Professional Workers
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Why It’s Hard for Apple to Make iPhones Outside of China Apple is facing an uphill battle as it plans to shift its production out of China. Here’s why it’s difficult to replicate Foxconn’s ‘iPhone City’ in Zhengzhou and the company’s finely-tuned ecosystem in countries like India and Vietnam. Photo: Karen Dias/Bloomberg News

☆ What’s Behind Tesla’s Stock Slide?
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ China establishes mortgage rate adjustment mechanism for some home buyers
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, Jan 5 (Reuters) - China's central bank and the banking and insurance regulator have established a dynamic adjustment mechanism on mortgage rates for first-time home buyers, the central bank said on Thursday, in a bid to further support the property sector. The crisis in China's property market, once a pillar of the world's second-biggest economy, worsened last summer with home prices, sales and investment all falling sharply. According to analysts' calculation, 38 cities are eligible for adjustable mortgage rate floors, including some second-tier cities such as Wuhan and Zhengzhou and more than 20 smaller cities. Analysts said the move shows the government's growing intent to support demand in weak cities, but added the impact may be limited. "Lowering mortgage rates has not been able to drive sales.

☆ Apple has enlisted one of Foxconn's biggest rivals to help build iPhones after worker unrest led to production delays, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Apple has enlisted one of Foxconn's biggest rivals, Luxshare, to help build iPhones, the FT reports. Foxconn is Apple's largest iPhone supplier, but has been hampered by worker protests at its biggest facility. Insider contacted Apple, Foxconn, and Luxshare for comment on the FT's report, but did not receive a response. According to a Bloomberg report in late November, the protests risked a six million device shortage in iPhone Pro production. Foxconn is Apple's biggest iPhone supplier, and has traditionally had the coveted responsibility of producing new iPhone Pro models.

☆ Apple supplier Luxshare rises after reportedly winning contract to produce luxury iPhones
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Jihye Lee | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

The Apple iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Pro, and iPhone Pro Max on sale at the company's Fifth Avenue store in New York, US, on Friday, Sept. 16, 2022. Photographer: Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesShares of Luxshare Precision Industry , one of Apple's Chinese contract manufacturers, rose more than 3% in Asia's trade after the Financial Times reported the supplier is set to sign a contract to produce premium iPhones. The move comes after rival Foxconn halted production lines in Zhengzhou following protests over China's stringent Covid measures over a month ago. The Financial Times reported Luxshare has already produced "small amounts" of the iPhone 14 Pro Max since November to make up for Foxconn's lost production. Apple and Luxshare did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment.

☆ Apple supplier Foxconn says December revenue fell 12.3% y/y
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

TAIPEI, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Taiwan's Foxconn (2317.TW), the world's largest contract electronics maker, on Thursday said revenue in December dropped 12.3% year-on-year after production problems related to COVID-19 controls at a major iPhone factory in China's Zhengzhou. The company in a statement said production at the major iPhone factory in China "basically returned to normal" in December. It did not elaborate. Reporting by Sarah Wu and Yimou Lee; Editing by Christopher CushingOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ China risks loom over U.S. tech giants Tesla and Apple as share prices plunge
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

But in October, the world's biggest iPhone factory in Zhengzhou, China, was hit with a Covid outbreak. Reuters reported on Tuesday that Foxconn's Zhengzhou factory is almost back to full production. In early November, after Foxconn imposed Covid restrictions at the factory, Apple said the plant was operating at a "significantly reduced capacity." The world's biggest iPhone factory, located in China and run by Foxconn, faced disruptions in 2022. Apple could report a 1% annual decline in revenue in the December quarter, according to Refinitiv consensus estimates.

☆ Apple to sign Luxshare for iPhone production in China - FT
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Luxshare, which was founded in 2004, became an Apple supplier in 2011 and has steadily moved up the hardware giant's value chain, from making connector cables for the iPhone and Macbook to manufacturing Airpods. Analysts expected Apple to diversify its supplier base amid production disruptions in China due to employee unrest at a factory operated by Foxconn and COVID-19 induced lockdowns. Apple in November warned of lower shipments of its premium iPhone 14 models following significant production cuts. Industry research firm TrendForce said on Saturday that Apple decided to employ Luxshare as one of the assemblers for the upcoming iPhone 15 Pro Max. TrendForce added that Luxshare's only iPhone assembly plant is located in China and it doesn't plan on setting up an iPhone production line at its Vietnam plant where it assembles Apple accessories.

☆ Foxconn's COVID-hit China plant close to resuming full production, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Yimou Lee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TAIPEI, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Foxconn's COVID-hit iPhone plant in China's Zhengzhou city is almost back to full production, with its December shipments reaching about 90% of initial plans, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said. A company source told Reuters last month that it was aiming for the plant to resume full production around late December to early January. "Production has almost fully resumed," said one of the people on Tuesday, who declined to be identified as the information was private. The second person said production was nearly back to normal but that company officials remained cautious over the outlook due to a spike of COVID-19 cases across China. The Zhengzhou plant's troubles highlighted the difficulties companies and workers had in adhering to China's zero-COVID-19 policy.

☆ Foxconn Zhengzhou plant's Dec shipments hit 90% of original target - source
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

TAIPEI, Jan 3 (Reuters) - December shipments from Foxconn's (2317.TW) Zhengzhou iPhone plant in China were 90% of the firm's initial plans, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said, as the facility strives to recover from its COVID-induced woes. Foxconn declined to comment. The world's largest iPhone manufacturing facility was hit late last year by a COVID-19 outbreak that prompted worker departures and unrest as well as production disruptions. Reporting by Yimou Lee in Taipei, Writing by Brenda Goh; Editing by Christian SchmollingerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Search resuls for: "ZHENGZHOU"

25 mentions found