Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.’s shares rose more than 3% overnight after it forecast second-quarter profits would rise 13 times from the same period last year, as demand for artificial intelligence (AI) technology is helping memory chip prices recover.
Operating profit at the world’s largest maker of memory chips, smartphones and televisions is estimated to have risen to 8.8 trillion won ($6.34 billion) in the quarter ended June 30. That was an average of LSEG SmartEstimates from 27 analysts, which weight analysts’ estimates towards more consistent and accurate estimates.
The figure marks Samsung’s highest profit since the third quarter of 2022 and exceeds its operating profit of 670 billion won in the second quarter of last year.
The tech giant’s core semiconductor division is likely to see profits improve for a second consecutive quarter as memory chip prices continue to rise from mid-2022 through the end of 2023, after bottoming out due to a post-pandemic slump in demand for devices that use the chips.
Samsung is expected to unveil its latest flagship flip phone and mobile accessories, including a new health-monitoring ring, in Paris on July 10 to compete with rival Apple (APPL) at the top end of the market.
Boeing (BA)
The airline faces new dangers if federal prosecutors reinstate criminal charges against it by the end of the week and the company pleads guilty.
The plea deal could be rejected by a judge, he would have to pay a large fine and, perhaps the biggest risk, a guilty verdict could impact Boeing’s already-bruised profits.
A criminal conviction could result in the seizure or suspension of a company’s federal contracting rights and hinder its ability to secure loans, said Eddie Jauregui, a former federal prosecutor and now a white-collar crime lawyer at the law firm Holland & Knight.
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The results are especially significant for Boeing, whose largest customer is the federal government. The company is also the largest U.S. exporter.
The issue could be brought before an executive branch agency called the Intergovernmental Suspension and Debarment Committee (ISDC), which has the power to negotiate government-wide suspensions or debarments that could end or halt a company’s business with the U.S. government.
“There are a lot of considerations, and they’re significant,” Jauregui said. “I think government contracting is probably a very significant factor for Boeing.”
German airline Lufthansa is considering increasing its stake in Italian airline ITA Airlines to 90% from early next year, it has emerged.
“For us, the 90 percent option kicks in at the beginning of 2025,” Carsten Spohr, CEO of the German airline, said in an interview published on Thursday, adding that he wanted the Italian government to keep its stake in ITA.
His comments came after his company received EU antitrust approval to buy 41 percent of state-owned ITA for 325 million euros ($350 million).
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When Lufthansa agreed a deal with Rome authorities last year for a 41 percent stake, it said it would consider taking full control of ITA “at a later date”.
In another interview Il Sole 24 hours a day, every dayITA Chairman Antonino Tulicchi said Lufthansa’s first investment agreement would be signed in November, adding that Lufthansa could increase its stake to 90 percent a year after signing.
Italian Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said on Wednesday the government wanted to maintain a certain level of oversight over the ITA to protect the country’s interests.
Bitcoin’s value slid below $59,000 (£46,286) on Thursday as multiple factors increased selling pressure on the digital asset. Bitcoin is down 3.9% in 24 hours and is trading at $58,770 at the time of writing.
Other cryptocurrencies, Ether (ETH-USD) and Solana (SOL-USD), fell even further, down 4.6% and 7.3%, respectively. The total global crypto market capitalization is now $2.28 trillion, down 4.1% from the previous day, according to data from Coingecko.
The recent drop in bitcoin’s price has been exacerbated by a surge in the liquidation of long positions: Futures traders who bet that the price of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies would rise lost more than $240 million in the past 24 hours, according to data from CoinGlass.
Bitcoin futures saw long liquidations of over $61 million, while the overall cryptocurrency market recorded long liquidations of over $247 million (£193.66 million).Long liquidations occur when investors who hold long positions in financial instruments such as Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are forced to sell their positions.
This typically occurs in leveraged trading, where an investor borrows funds to increase their position size, but is unable to meet margin requirements and the position is closed out to prevent further losses.
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