As Japan retreats on yen, Asian stocks stumble from four-month high |
- As Japan retreats on yen, Asian stocks stumble from four-month high
- Asian shares mirror US losses before Fed test
- New York snowstorm: Authorities, meteorologists defend decision to shut down city
- You got nothing! Taylor Swift fires back at hackers threatening to leak nude pictures
- Armstrong just another USADA scapegoat?
- AT&T beats profit estimates on subscriber strength
| As Japan retreats on yen, Asian stocks stumble from four-month high Posted: 27 Jan 2015 04:56 PM PST
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index declined 0.4 per cent to 141.81 as of 9am in Tokyo after climbing yesterday to its highest close since September 25. Japan's Topix index slid 0.7 per cent. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index sank 1.3 per cent yesterday, while the Nasdaq 100 Index tumbled 2.6 per cent for the biggest drop since April as results for companies from Caterpillar Inc to Microsoft Corp missed estimates and orders for business equipment unexpectedly fell for a fourth month in December. "We may see some fairly substantial earnings downgrades in the US," Tim Schroeders, a portfolio manager who helps oversee US$1 billion (RM3.6 billion) in equities at Pengana Capital Ltd in Melbourne, said by phone. "That's going to put a dampener on the US market and spread globally. If weaker earning does become a trend, we'll be in for more volatility." Futures on the S&P 500 gained 0.2 per cent today as Apple Inc and Yahoo! Inc surged in post-market trading. Apple jumped as iPhone sales topped analysts' estimates, while Yahoo rose as much as 10 per cent after announcing a tax-free spinoff of its stake in Chinese e-retailing giant Alibaba Group Holding Inc. "Despite some large Dow names releasing some ordinary earnings figures, Apple came out after the market closed and beat estimates," Scott Schuberg, chief executive officer at Rivkin Securities in Sydney, said by email. "Given Apple's size, this may well lift US equity futures and, as a result, brighten up an otherwise ordinary lead for Asian investors." Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average decreased 0.7 per cent as the yen rose 0.1 per cent to 117.81 per dollar after gaining 0.5 per cent yesterday. South Korea's Kospi index lost 0.3 per cent. New Zealand's NZX 50 Index advanced 0.2 per cent. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index slipped 0.1 per cent. Markets in Hong Kong and China have yet to open. The Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.9 per cent yesterday after five days of gains. Chinese industrial companies' profits declined the most in at least three years last month, underscoring the challenge facing the nation's former growth drivers as the economy slows and commodity prices slump. — Bloomberg  |
| Asian shares mirror US losses before Fed test Posted: 27 Jan 2015 04:49 PM PST
Apple Inc provided some relief after the bell as record sales of its iPhone line helped it beat expectations, sending its stock up 5 per cent. But earnings from other majors generally disappointed, with multinationals from DuPont to Microsoft Corp complaining that a strong US dollar was hurting profits. That left a soggy air to early Asian trade and Australia's main index eased 0.4 per cent while Nikkei futures pointed to an opening drop of around 0.8 per cent. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was off a slim 0.06 per cent. On Wall Street, the Dow ended with losses of 1.65 per cent, while the S&P 500 fell 1.34 per cent and the Nasdaq 1.89 per cent. Nine of the 10 primary S&P 500 sectors fell, with tech off 3.3 per cent in its biggest one-day drop since November 2011. Shares in Microsoft slid over 10 per cent, while Caterpillar shed 7 per cent. The latest US economic news was mixed with durable goods orders surprisingly soft, but notable strength seen in housing and consumer sentiment. The softness in business investment and corporate earnings stoked talk the Fed would have to acknowledge the more difficult environment in its policy statement at 1400 GMT. So far, the central bank has stuck by plans to raise interest rates around the middle of 2015, but markets have relentlessly pushed out the timing to year end and are plotting a much lower trajectory for future hikes. Fed funds imply a rate of only 45 basis points by December, compared to the current effective funds rate of 12 basis points. Just the risk of a dovish turn was enough to force speculators to cut back on crowded short positions in the euro, lifting the single currency to US$1.1365 and away from Monday's 11-year low of US$1.1098. The dollar also dipped to ¥117.75 and retreated against a basket of major currencies to 94.089. In commodity markets, the pullback in the dollar helped Brent crude oil gain US$1.10 to US$49.30 a barrel. However, US crude oil futures were quoted 65 cents lower today at US$45.58 (RM164) on news US oil stockpiles surged by nearly 13 million barrels last week. — Reuters |
| New York snowstorm: Authorities, meteorologists defend decision to shut down city Posted: 27 Jan 2015 04:46 PM PST
Travel bans were lifted, public transport resumed and parks reopened in the city of eight million people, easing many of the measures put in place as Winter Storm Juno moved in on Monday. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city got only a fraction of the two feet (60 centimetres) of snow that had been widely predicted in the 48 hours leading up to the storm. "You plan the best you can and you lean toward safety," said New York state Governor Andrew Cuomo, fending off a barrage of questions. "It may actually have brought us back to full operating capacity sooner but I do not criticise weather forecasters. I learn." The clean-up will continue until today, when schools will reopen, and city and state employees will return to work. Broadway theatres announced that most shows would go ahead yesterday as planned, after the Great White Way went dark Monday. A 'no-brainer'
De Blasio, who repeatedly warned before the storm struck that it was likely to be one of the worst in the city's history, fended off accusations that he had been needlessly alarmist. "To me, it was a no-brainer. We had to take precautions to keep people safe. God forbid this storm had not moved east, we would then have been hit," he said. Had travel not been banned, city residents would have been in possible mortal danger, and any economic impact would have been far more negative had there been more destruction, he said. "We are going to be very forceful in our messages to people when we sense danger," De Blasio said. The director of the National Weather Service later apologised for not better outlining the forecast uncertainty and said procedure would be reviewed. "We need to make these uncertainties clear for decision makers to assess the risk, take action or do nothing knowing the level of uncertainty with each forecast," said Louis Uccellini. "We do recognise the need to work harder and smarter to produce better forecast and better communicate forecast uncertainty." The Service said more than 30 inches (76 centimetres) fell in parts of Massachusetts, where the state capital Boston received more than 20 inches. It warned that life-threatening conditions persist along the coast from Long Island in New York, into New England to the north. On the streets of Manhattan, there were mixed feelings about whether the authorities had over-reacted. "This is a mere dusting and I've been here for my whole life, with a little bit in London, and this is ridiculous, when they call it a storm," said financial consultant Curtis Brill. "People do have to be cautious and ice and driving do not mix, so it's better to take precautions and not have accidents," said Jennifer Daly, who works on New York's Fifth Avenue. Air travel disrupted In the end, snowfall varied throughout the New York area, with some parts of the city receiving as little as four inches ― far short of the city's record 26.9 inches in February 2006. Long Island, east of Manhattan and jutting out to sea ― was however hit with more than 20 inches of snow. Police in the easternmost Suffolk County confirmed that a teenage boy died late Monday in a sledding accident. Cuomo lifted the travel ban, which was imposed at 11.00pm Monday, at 8.00am (1300 GMT). Limited rail and subway services resumed and will be back to normal by today. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie also lifted the travel ban in his state, but officials in both states nevertheless warned against all but essential travel. A driving ban was also later lifted in Connecticut. Flight disruptions are still extensive. Around 5,300 flights within, to and from the United States have been cancelled for yesterday and today, according to flightaware.com. Officials said virtually all flights at New York's LaGuardia airport were cancelled yesterday as well as most at Newark and John F. Kennedy international airports. Thousands were without power along the coast of Massachusetts, including on Nantucket Island, where some were evacuated from their homes, local media reported. ― AFP |
| You got nothing! Taylor Swift fires back at hackers threatening to leak nude pictures Posted: 27 Jan 2015 04:41 PM PST
The singer's Twitter and Instagram accounts were briefly seized by at least one hacker who vowed to release naked pictures of Swift if supporters paid enough in the form of the virtual currency bitcoin. "Any hackers saying they have 'nudes'?" Swift wrote after retaking control of her Twitter account. "Psssh you'd love that wouldn't you! Have fun photoshopping cause you got NOTHING." Little was known about the presumed hacker, whose account was suspended by Twitter. The user who threatened to release nude photos had the Twitter handle @lizzard and signed as lizard in Japanese. @lizzard, in a Twitter biography before the account was suspended, claimed — incongruously — to be affiliated at once with the Islamic State extremist group, the hactivist collective Anonymous and North Korea. Swift joked about the hacking, writing, "This is why I'm scared of technology". Swift, whose "1989" was by far the best-selling US album released last year, famously pulled all of her music from Spotify as she said that the streaming service insufficiently compensated artists, charges denied by the Swedish company. But Swift is intensively active on other parts of the Internet. She is one of only four people with more than 50 million followers on Twitter. The others are US President Barack Obama and fellow pop stars Katy Perry and Justin Bieber. — AFP |
| Armstrong just another USADA scapegoat? Posted: 27 Jan 2015 04:41 PM PST
A cancer survivor and once a hero to millions, Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour de France victories and banned for life from racing in 2012 by USADA after it accused him in a report of engineering one of the most sophisticated doping schemes in sports. "He was very much made a scapegoat, there was a witch hunt after Armstrong," McQuaid told BBC Radio 5 live yesterday, before adding that he had "a certain sympathy" with the American. Irishman McQuaid, UCI president from 2006 to 2013 before being replaced by Brian Cookson, made his comments a day after Armstrong had told the BBC he would not have needed to resort to doping in the sport's current era. Following his return from cancer in the late 1990s, Armstrong was regularly subjected to claims of doping, which he stoutly refuted until the release of USADA's "reasoned decision." The 200-page document—supported by a further 1,000 pages of evidence—finally led to Armstrong's confession in an interview with Oprah Winfrey in January 2013. "That's the way it was," said McQuaid. "USADA wanted a big name. They weren't really interested in the smaller riders and also they made deals with the smaller riders in order to get the information they needed on the big guys. "I can have a certain sympathy because I don't think in sport, people in those situations, I think they should be treated equally." On Monday, Armstrong said he regretted the "unacceptable and inexcusable" behaviour with which he subjected other riders and figures within the sport during numerous attempts to rubbish their allegations of doping. "I would want to change the man that did those things, maybe not the decision, but the way he acted," he continued. "The way he treated people, the way he couldn't stop fighting. It was unacceptable, inexcusable." Armstrong's seven Tour victories between 1999 and 2005 have been rescinded but not assigned to anyone else because of the prevalence of doping at the time. — Reuters |
| AT&T beats profit estimates on subscriber strength Posted: 27 Jan 2015 04:36 PM PST
Fourth-quarter earnings, excluding some items, were 55 cents a share, beating the 54-cent average of analysts' estimates. Revenue rose to US$34.4 billion (RM110 billion), compared with analysts' average projection for US$34.2 billion. Facing heightened competition from T-Mobile US Inc and Sprint Corp, AT&T has cut prices on shared-data plans in a battle to keep customers. While the promotions have helped attract subscribers, the skirmishes have put pressure on the profits of all four major US carriers. AT&T has turned its attention to expanding beyond the highly competitive US market, announcing its third deal this week that gives it assets in Mexico. "AT&T, to their credit, more than a year ago became more aggressive at repricing, so a beat might show they have reached some price stabilisation," Colby Synesael, an analyst with Cowen & Co who recommends holding AT&T shares, said in an interview before the earnings release. AT&T rose as much as 2.6 per cent to US$33.66 in extended trading. The shares dropped 4.5 per cent last year. The price cuts and promotions on tablets and popular phones like Apple Inc's latest iPhones helped AT&T add 854,000 monthly subscribers. Analysts expected 819,000, according to an average of seven estimates collected by Bloomberg. Without tablets, AT&T actually lost about 100,000 monthly phone subscribers, chief financial officer John Stephens said in a phone interview. A surge in smartphone converts wasn't enough to make up for an exodus of older mobile-phone users. The company added 969,000 net monthly tablet customers. Sacrificing margins The efforts to lure more customers came at the expense of the company's margins. Profit margins on wireless service excluding interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation, came in at 36.7 per cent, narrower than 42 per cent a year ago. Analysts projected a margin of 38.6 per cent, based on seven estimates from a Bloomberg survey. For 2015, AT&T said adjusted earnings will grow in the "low single-digit range" as margins expand. Analysts were estimating that profit will increase about 2 per cent to US$2.56 a share this year. The company plans to give a more detailed forecast after the closing of pending acquisitions, particularly its purchase of DirecTV. AT&T CFO Stephens warned in December that price competition had put pressure on AT&T's margins and increased the rate of customers leaving in the fourth quarter. The rate of monthly subscriber defections, known as churn, was 1.22 per cent, compared with 0.99 per cent in the third quarter. Mexico expansion AT&T has been working to find growth beyond its slowing US operations. The Dallas-based company is awaiting a regulatory decision on its proposed US$48.5 billion purchase of satellite-TV provider DirecTV. In the earnings statement yesteray, AT&T said the DirecTV deal will lead to higher synergies than originally expected, without providing specifics. On Monday, AT&T announced a US$1.88 billion acquisition of NII Holdings Inc's Nextel Mexico unit. The deal includes about three million subscribers, radio wave spectrum and network towers. Earlier this month, AT&T completed the takeover of Grupo Iusacell SA for US$2.5 billion as it plans a cross-border wireless service between Mexico and the US. When asked if he was done buying in Mexico, AT&T chief executive officer Randall Stephenson said the company has assets now that are "far more than sufficient" and it can operate without acquiring anything from America Movil SAB. Carlos Slim's America Movil has been pursuing a breakup in Mexico for six months to adhere to new regulations. Slim's company has recently been adjusting its break-up plan to make its assets more attractive to potential suitors, including AT&T, people with knowledge of the matter said earlier this month. America Movil now plans to offer specific segments of customers to buyers, instead of splitting the assets into geographic regions, said the people. America Movil's situation is too uncertain right now, Stephenson said on AT&T's earnings conference call. AT&T reported a fourth-quarter net loss of almost US$4 billion, or 77 cents a share, compared with net income of US$6.9 billion, or US$1.31, a year ago. The company was dragged to a loss, in part, because of the US$10 billion in charges for changes to its pension and retiree benefit plans and a write-down of landline assets that it disclosed earlier this month. Even as efforts to expand in Mexico and bid billions of dollars for spectrum in a US auction stretch AT&T's finances, executives still expressed commitment to its dividend, calling it a "very important aspect" of the company. — Bloomberg |
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