Don't resort to sorcerers - Oman Daily Observer

24
OMAN/INTERNATIONAL SATURDAY, JANUARY 26, 2013
Asian stock markets mixed, Tokyo surges on yen tumble
HONG KONG — Asian markets
were mixed yesterday,
with Tokyo’s Nikkei surging
to a near three-year high on the
back of a weaker yen, while
Wall Street provided an uneven
lead.
The yen resumed its down-
A MAN looks at a stock index board outside a brokerage in Tokyo yesterday. — Reuters
trend after a brief rally as the
country’s vice finance minister
indicated the new hawkish
government would step in to
stop the currency from returning
to record highs against
the dollar. Tokyo surged 2.88
per cent, or 305.78 points, to
10,926.65, pushing the benchmark
index to its best close
since April 2010.
Sydney was 0.42 per cent
higher, adding 25.0 points to
4,835.2 but Seoul closed 0.91
per cent lower, shedding 17.79
points to 1,946.69.
In the afternoon Hong
Kong lost 0.37 per cent while
Shanghai eased 0.22 per cent
on profit taking.
Hong Kong closed flat dipping
21.64 points to 23,580.43
and Shanghai fell 0.49 per
cent, or 11.30 points to end at
2,291.30.
Takehiko Nakao said the
government was closely watching
the yen’s movements in
currency markets, adding that
“appropriate action” would be
taken if it got too strong.
His comments in an interview
with the Wall Street
Journal sent the yen tumbling
Thursday in New York, where
the US dollar jumped to 90.40
yen from 88.56 yen a day earlier,
while the euro climbed
120.91 yen from 118.00 yen.
“Nakao’s comments serve
as a stark reminder of the government’s
unrelenting drive to
pursue a weaker currency in an
attempt to resuscitate the economy,”
Chris Gore, currency
analyst at Go Markets said in
a note to clients, according to
Dow Jones Newswires.
The BoJ move, which came
after pressure from the government,
raised eyebrows around
the world and stoked fears of
another currency war as other
economies look to weaken
their currencies to boost exports.
German Chancellor Angela
Merkel said: “I will admit I am
not without some concern about
Japan right now.” She added
that “political influences or
manipulations of the exchange
rate” have become a hot topic
within the Group of 20.
However, Japan’s Finance
Minister Taro Aso yesterday
rejected claims Tokyo was orchestrating
a slide in the yen,
with the online version of the
Nikkei quoting him as saying
Microsoft beats forecasts with $6.4bn profit
SAN FRANCISCO —
Microsoft said its profit dipped
slightly from a year earlier but
posted record revenues in the
past quarter, getting a lift from
sales of its new Windows 8 operating
system.
Profit dipped 3.7 per cent
from 12 months ago to $6.38
billion, better than most forecasts,
while revenues rose 2.7
per cent to $21.46 billion, a
record for the US tech giant.
Microsoft said the boost in
revenues came from pre-sales
and upgrades of Windows 8,
recognised in the quarter, and
gains in business software and
other segments.
The second fiscal quarter
statement, however, did not
offer specific sales data for
the Surface tablet launched
late last year by Microsoft
or its new Windows Phone 8
system, two keys to the company’s
future.
“Our big, bold ambition to
reimagine Windows as well as
launch Surface and Windows
MICROSOFT CEO Steve Ballmer speaks in front of Microsoft products at the Qualcomm
pre-show keynote at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. — Reuters (File)
Phone 8 has sparked growing
enthusiasm with our customers
and unprecedented opportunity
and creativity with our
partners and developers,” said
Steve Ballmer, chief executive.
“With new Windows devices,
including Surface Pro, and
the new Office on the horizon,
we’ll continue to drive excitement
for the Windows ecosystem
and deliver our software
through devices and services
people love and businesses
need.”
The profit amounted to 76
cents per share — one cent
better than the Wall Street
consensus. Microsoft shares
traded down 1.4 per cent in
after-hours exchanges.
John Ogg at 24/7 Wall Street
called it a “mixed” report and
said there appeared to be concerns
that Microsoft did not
offer guidance other than that
its operating expenses would
be in the $30.3 to $30.9 billion
range for the fiscal year.
“Until guidance is offered
in the call we would consider
this unfinished business,” he
said.
“This was the first time in
memory we haven’t seen disappointment
in the Windows
line,” he said in a research
note, maintaining a buy rating.
Raimo Lenschow at
Barclays said the results were
“essentially in line with investors’
low expectations.”
The analyst said Microsoft
shares would “pull back only
modestly” and that investors
will be “looking for further
detail on what management
expects for Windows 8 moving
forward” and sales figures
for the Surface. — AFP
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such criticism “is completely
off the mark”.
Highlighting the work
ahead for Japan’s new leaders,
official data yesterday showed
the economy remained stuck
in a deflationary rut, with core
consumer prices slipping 0.1
per cent in 2012, the fourth annual
decline.
Traders took heart from another
rise on the Dow, which
ended 0.33 per cent higher after
figures were released showing
weekly US jobless claims
fell for a second straight week,
but Wall Street’s other two major
indexes fared less well.
The S&P 500 was flat and
the tech-rich Nasdaq fell 0.74
per cent, dragged by a 12 per
cent plunge in Apple after the
iPhone maker’s latest earnings
WASHINGTON — Starbucks
Corp reported stronger-thanexpected
sales in the United
States and Asia despite economic
uncertainty worldwide,
offsetting unexpected costs including
the bill for cleaning up
after Superstorm Sandy.
The company’s first-quarter
profit matched but did not
exceed Wall Street estimates
and it merely repeated its forecasts
for the full year. Starbucks
often tops profit expectations
and raises forecasts.
Seattle-based Starbucks is
frequented by affluent consumers
with extra money to
spend on premium drinks like
lattes and mochas, but the
chain’s executives joined industry
peers in adopting a cautious
stance for the new year,
largely because of concerns
that this month’s US payroll
tax increase could depress
report fell short of expectations.
Seoul, which fell on weak
economic growth figures
Thursday, took another hit
yesterday after index giant
Samsung Electronics posted
below-forecast results for the
October-December fourth
quarter.
Gold was at $1,669.20 at
1055 GMT compared with
$1,677.37 late Thursday.
In other markets:
Thai stocks rose 0.85 per
cent or 12.32 points to close
at 1,461.41. Banpu was unchanged
at 392.00 baht, while
PTT shed 0.30 per cent or 1.00
baht at 333.00 baht.
Jakarta ended up 18.87
points, or 0.43 per cent, at
4,437.59. Hero Supermarket
consumer spending.
Starbucks’ results landed
a day after fellow restaurant
bellwether McDonald’s Corp
reported an unexpected rise in
December sales at established
US restaurants. But McDonald’s
also warned that its
rose 7.22 per cent to 5,200 rupiah,
mobile phone provider
Indosat gained 4.48 per cent
to 7,000 rupiah, while Aneka
Tambang fell 1.50 per cent to
1,310 rupiah.
Kuala Lumpur shares
gained 1.88 points, or 0.11
per cent, to close at 1,637.13.
UMW Holdings added 2.7 per
cent to 12.10 ringgit, and Felda
Global Ventures Holdings rose
1.8 per cent to 4.59. Axiata
Group dipped 0.9 per cent to
6.37 ringgit.
Manila closed 0.82 per
cent higher, adding 50.37
points to 6,167.64. Ayala Corp
rose 1.85 per cent to 552 pesos,
Alliance Global Group
gained 0.11 per cent to 17.48
pesos and Manila Electric Co.
was 1.50 per cent up at 284.60
pesos.
Mumbai rose 0.9 per cent,
or 179.75 points, to 20,103.53.
Singapore closed up
0.64 per cent, or 20.92 points,
to 3,269.31. Wilmar International
gained 3.78 per cent to
Sg$3.84 while United Overseas
Bank dropped 0.84 per
cent to Sg$18.86.
Taipei fell 0.30 per cent,
or 23.41 points, to 7,672.58.
Hon Hai Precision rose 1.09
per cent to Tw$83.4 while
TSMC was 0.9 per cent lower
at Tw$99.0.
Wellington rose 0.24
per cent, or 9.91 points, to
4,199.82. Fisher & Paykel
Healthcare was up 2.1 per cent
at NZ$2.49 and Telecom added
1.9 per cent to NZ$2.38.
— AFP
Starbucks Corp stays
hot in US and Asia
SEOUL — South Korea’s
Samsung Electronics said yesterday
net profit soared 75.6
per cent to a record 7.04 trillion
won ($6.6 billion) in the
fourth quarter of 2012, driven
by strong smartphone and
memory chip sales.
The world’s largest technology
firm by revenue and
top smartphone maker also
saw a record operating profit
in October-December of 8.84
trillion won, up 89.7 per cent
from a year earlier.
The figures were largely in
line with Samsung’s guidance
released earlier this month.
For all of 2012, Samsung
logged a net profit of 23.8 trillion
won, with revenue and operating
income reaching 201.1
trillion won and 29.05 trillion
PEDESTRIANS walk past the new Starbucks logo on a
store in Times Square in New York. — Reuters
won respectively.
The company said growth
in the fourth quarter was mainly
driven by “solid sales” of its
flagship Galaxy S3 and Galaxy
Note 2 smartphones.
IT and Mobile Communications
accounted for the lion’s
share of operating profit in
the fourth quarter, racking up
5.44 trillion won on revenue of
31.32 trillion won.
However, Samsung cautioned
that the “furious growth
spurt” in the global smartphone
market in 2012 would be “pacified”
this year by intensifying
price competition by a slew of
new products.
“In the first quarter, demand
for smartphones in developed
countries is expected to decelerate,”
it said in a statement.
January same-restaurant sales
would fall as it follows strong
year-ago results.
“We don’t know where the
consumer is going to shake
out this year,” Edward Jones
analyst Jack Russo said.
— Reuters
Samsung posts record
fourth quarter profit
SAMSUNG Galaxy tablet computers are displayed at a store in Seoul. — Reuters
Samsung’s growth momentum
still remains faster than
smartphone rival Apple’s, and
analysts expect it to stay that
way for much of the year due
to a larger mix of products.
While shares in Samsung
have climbed 12 per cent over
the past three months, Apple
has slumped 20 per cent.
The California-based company
announced record quarterly
profits on Wednesday, but
investors soured on forecasts
of levelling growth and reduced
profit margins.
While Samsung does not
provide figures for quarterly
smartphone shipments, analysts
estimate the company
sold 63 million smartphones
on total handset sales of 110.5
million units. — AFP