Business in 60 Seconds

US tech titans report upbeat quarterly results

US tech giants Amazon, Apple, Alphabet and Facebook have all reported forecast-beating quarterly results. That's as the coronavirus pandemic boosted demand for their services and gadgets. Their combined after-tax profits in the three months to September jumped 31-percent from a year ago to 39-billion- dollars, while sales rose 18-percent to 227-billion- dollars.

Air France-KLM posts $1.9B loss, warns of gloomier outlook

Air France-KLM has reported heavy losses in the third quarter as the pandemic continued to hit air travel demand. Net loss came in at 1-point-9 billion- dollars, compared with a profit of 425-million- dollars a year ago. The carrier has also warned of bigger losses ahead, as European countries impose new restrictions to combat a resurgence of COVID-19 infections.

Berlin's new international airport finally opens

Berlin's long-delayed Brandenburg Airport finally opens its doors to passengers on Saturday. The opening was postponed several times since the original planned 2011 launch and costs nearly tripled to over 7-billion- dollars. The existing facilities at Berlin's Schonefeld Airport will continue to operate, while Tegel is scheduled to close to air traffic next week.

Tiffany's board approves sale to LVMH at lower price

The French luxury goods giant, LVMH, will pay slightly less to buy the US jeweller Tiffany & Co after the two firms agreed to salvage the luxury sector's biggest-ever deal. LVMH will now pay 15-point-8 billion dollars, down from the 16-point-2 billion dollars originally agreed. The Louis Vuitton- owner had tried to get out of the acquisition, citing concerns over the pandemic.

Shell raises dividend after reporting upbeat Q3 earnings

Royal Dutch Shell has raised its dividend to shareholders, just six months after slashing the payout for the first time since the Second World War. The energy major said the dividend for the third quarter will increase by 4-percent to just under 17-cents per share and grow annually thereafter. Shell's adjusted net profit came in at 955-million- dollars last quarter, beating analysts' estimates.

Samsung reports 49% jump in Q3 net profit to $8.3B

Samsung has reported better-than- expected third quarter results as its mobile and chip units benefited from US sanctions on Huawei. Net profit in the July to September period jumped 49 -percent from a year ago to 8-point-3 billion dollars. Meanwhile, the US has reportedly started allowing chip companies to supply components to Huawei's non-5G businesses.

Boeing to make deeper job cuts as its sales slump

Boeing is deepening job cuts as the pandemic and the grounding of its 737 MAX jet continued to weigh on its finances. The US plane-maker says it will slash another 7-thousand positions by the end of next year, bringing the total number of job cuts to 30-thousand people. Meanwhile, the company has reported a 401-million- dollar loss in the three months through September.

Demand for cloud services boosts Microsoft's Q1 earnings

Microsoft has smashed expectations for its first quarter thanks to a global shift to working from home and online learning during the pandemic. Net income at the US software giant rose 30-percent from a year ago to 14-billion- dollars. Earnings were boosted by a surge in demand for cloud computing services and video games.

French supermarket chain Carrefour's sales rise 8.4% in Q3

Europe's largest supermarket chain, Carrefour, has delivered its strongest sales growth in more than two decades, driven by better performances in France, Spain and Brazil. Sales came in at 23-point-3 billion dollars in the third quarter, marking an 8-point-4 percent increase. Carrefour also says it's on track with its previously announced cost-cutting plan.

Ant Group to raise $34.5B in world's biggest IPO

The Chinese financial technology company, Ant Group, has set the price for its shares.. ahead of what's expected to be the biggest initial public offering of all time. The dual-listing in Shanghai and Hong Kong will raise around 34-and- a-half billion dollars.. topping the 29.4-billion- dollars raised by Saudi Aramco last year. Ant Group is expected to start trading on the 5th of November.

Japan aims to be carbon neutral by 2050

Japan's prime minister, Yoshihide Suga, has set an ambitious target for his country to become carbon neutral by 20-50. In his first policy address to parliament since taking office last month, Suga said that going green would be a source of growth instead of a drag on the economy. The declaration follows China's recent pledge of carbon neutrality by 20-60.

Shares in Samsung, affiliates rise after chairman's death

Shares in Samsung and its affiliates rose after the death of chairman Lee Kun-hee sparked hopes for higher dividends and long-awaited restructuring. Lee has been credited with turning Samsung into a global technology and industrial powerhouse when he took over in 1987. According to Korea Investment & Securities, his heirs could face an inheritance tax bill of nearly 10-billion- dollars.

US chipmaker AMD to buy rival Xilinx for $35B

US semiconductor designer, Advanced Micro Devices, has agreed to buy rival, Xilinx, in an all-stock deal valued at 35-billion- dollars. The acquisition will help AMD better compete with industry giant, Intel, in the data centre chip market. The deal comes at a time when the shift to remote working during the pandemic boosts demand for chips used in computers and servers.

Stimulus helps South Korea's economy grow 1.9% in Q3

South Korea's economy returned to growth in the third quarter as stimulus measures took effect. Gross domestic product grew by 1-point-9 percent from the previous three-month period, marking the fastest expansion in a decade. Asia's fourth-largest economy had shrunk 3-point-1 percent in the second quarter.

BP swings to profit in Q3 on stronger oil demand

BP swung to profit in the third quarter, thanks to stronger oil prices and the absence of significant exploration write-offs. Underlying replacement cost profit came in at 100-million- dollars, following a loss of 6.9 billion dollars in the second quarter. But the energy major has warned the pace of recovery from the pandemic remains uncertain.

UK retail sales rise for fifth straight month in September

UK retail sales rose in September for the fifth consecutive month, with figures for most sectors now at pre-pandemic levels. The volume of overall sales rose by 1-and- a-half percent from the previous month, boosted by purchases at furniture and gardening stores. Sales were 5-and- a-half percent higher than in February, which was the last month before the coronavirus outbreak hit the country.

Huawei's revenue growth slows sharply as US sanctions bite

Huawei's revenue growth slowed sharply in the third quarter as US sanctions continued to weigh on its operations. Revenue at the Chinese telecom giant came in at 32-and- a-half billion dollars in the July to September period, up 3-point-7 percent year-on-year. That''s down from the 27-percent growth recorded in the same quarter last year.

Daimler raises full-year profit outlook on China boost

Daimler has lifted its full-year profit forecast after a 24-percent jump in Chinese demand for its Mercedes-Benz cars boosted margins in the third quarter. The German carmaker now expects earnings before interest and taxes to match those seen in 2019. Meanwhile, Renault posted a smaller than expected fall in revenue after dealerships reopened following coronavirus lockdowns.

US weekly jobless claims fall to lowest level since March

New US jobless claims fell to the lowest level since March last week in a sign of an improving labour market ahead of November's presidential election. 787-thousand people filed for unemployment benefits, compared with 842-thousand in the prior week. The total number of Americans collecting state jobless aid also decreased by 1-million to 8-point-3 million.

Hong Kong fines Goldman Sachs $350M over 1MDB scandal

Hong Kong's market watchdog has hit Goldman Sachs' Asian business with a record 350-million- dollar fine over its role in Malaysia's 1MDB scandal. The regulator says the bank ignored red flags while billions of dollars were looted from its client's fund. The Wall Street giant is also poised to reach a settlement with the US government that's expected to be worth around 2-billion- dollars.

Streaming service Quibi to shut down six months after launch

Short-form video streaming service, Quibi, has announced it'll be shutting down just six months after it launched. Disney veteran Jeffrey Katzenberg and former Hewlett Packard boss Meg Whitman set-up the platform in April to rival Netflix and YouTube. The start-up had raised 1-point-8 billion dollars from investors.

Cathay Pacific cuts 8,500 jobs and closes regional airline

Cathay Pacific is slashing 8-and- a-half thousand jobs globally as it grapples with a plunge in demand as a result of the pandemic. The cuts include 2-thousand 600 vacant positions that would remain unfilled. Hong Kong's flag carrier is also shutting its regional Cathay Dragon brand as part of a restructuring that would cost around 285-million- dollars.

Nestle ups full-year guidance as Q3 sales beat expectations

Nestle has reported organic sales growth of 4-point-9 percent in the third quarter, beating analysts' expectations. That's as strong demand for pet food and health products helped offset a slump in food sales to restaurants and cafes. The world's largest food company has also raised its guidance for 2020, forecasting sales growth of around 3 percent for the year.

Snap shares surge as user growth, revenue top estimates

Shares in Snap jumped around 25-percent after the social media platform smashed expectations for revenue and user growth. The company reported an 18-percent rise in daily active users in the third quarter to 249-million, as more people signed-up to the service during the pandemic. Revenue also surged 52-percent to a record 680-million- dollars.

Intel sells NAND memory unit to SK Hynix for $9B

US chipmaker Intel has agreed to sell its NAND memory chip business to SK Hynix for 9-billion- dollars. The deal will make the South Korean company the world's second- biggest flash memory chipmaker. Intel's flash memory products are used in smartphones, tablets and hard drives. Demand for those gadgets has surged during the pandemic.

Lufthansa reports operating loss of $1.5B in Q3

Lufthansa has reported a third-quarter operating loss of 1-and- a-half billion dollars as the COVID-19 crisis continued to weigh on its operations. The loss narrowed slightly from the previous quarter, after the German carrier resumed some flights. But demand for air travel is expected to remain low in the coming months due to new restrictions as infections surge in Europe.

Didi reportedly considering Hong Kong IPO at $60B valuation

Chinese ride-hailing firm Didi Chuxing has reportedly begun talks with investment banks for an initial public offering in Hong Kong next year. According to Reuters, the company is targeting a valuation of more than 60- billion- dollars. Didi is also said to be re-considering previous plans to list in New York due to rising trade tensions between China and the US.

Eurozone's budget deficits to widen tenfold this year

The eurozone's budget deficit will rise tenfold from last year's levels as governments spend heavily to mitigate the impact of the pandemic. Draft budget plans indicate the 19-country bloc will slide into a fiscal deficit of nearly 1-point-1 trillion dollars this year. The European Central Bank forecasts the eurozone's economy shrinking 8-percent in 2020.

Ant Group wins key approval for Hong Kong IPO plan

Jack Ma's Ant Group has reportedly won a key approval from Chinese regulators for the Hong Kong leg of its blockbuster initial public offering. The fin-tech company is expected to raise about 35-billion- dollars from the dual listing in Hong Kong and Shanghai. The listing could be one of the biggest ever offerings, topping the 29-billion- dollars raised in Saudi Aramco's IPO last year.

ConocoPhillips agrees to buy rival Concho for $9.7B

US oil producer ConocoPhillips has agreed to buy rival Concho Resources for about 9-point-7 billion dollars. The acquisition will make Conoco the largest US oil independent, pumping 1-and- a-half million barrels per day. The all-share deal comes as the energy sector continues to consolidate amid lower fuel prices and demand due to the pandemic.