Tech

Round-up of South Korean financial markets: ** South Korean shares gained for a second straight session, buoyed by Samsung Electronics and other tech stocks, and as the country reported a drop in COVID-19 cases. The won strengthened, while the benchmark bond yield dropped. ** The benchmark KOSPI closed up 17.69 points, or 0.74%, at 2,401.91 on Tuesday, following a 0.67% gain in the previous session. ** Samsung Electronics surged 3.89% to extend gains to a second session after the chip giant won a $6.64 billion supply contract from U.S.-based Verizon. ** Peer SK Hynix rose 1.28% and the sub-index for electric and electronics also jumped 3.03%. ** The country reported 136 new cases, as of Monday, after the rate fell to a three-week low of 119. The daily tally has steadily dropped since reaching a peak last month after the government imposed unprecedented social distancing rules. ** "Today's KOSPI rally is entirely about Samsung Electronics ... A series of news of (Samsung's) … [Read more...] about Samsung-led tech rally boosts South Korea shares for second session

Chinese tech veterans, including former executives at Huawei and SMIC, are planning to launch a "domestic replacement" fund by the end of the year to help create China's next tech giant and support Chinese companies sanctioned by Washington. Venture capital firm China Europe Capital aims to raise 5 billion yuan ($731.46 million) for the fund which will invest in start-ups specialising in technologies including semiconductor, 5G and artificial intelligence, said Zhang Jun, the firm's chairman and a former vice president at telecom equipment maker Huawei. The fund launch comes amid a government-backed investment boom in China's technology sector as Beijing competes with Washington in an increasingly acrimonious "tech war". Relations between the world's two largest economies have nosedived in recent months as they butt heads over the coronavirus pandemic, Hong Kong and trade. "China and the U.S. are in a Great Power rivalry that will end only when there's a knockout," Zhang told … [Read more...] about China tech veterans to launch ‘domestic replacement’ fund amid US sanctions

Japanese shares ended higher on Thursday as better-than-expected machinery orders data and Wall Street's rebound from a three-day losing streak bolstered investor sentiment. The benchmark Nikkei share average closed 0.88 per cent higher at 23,235.47, with 197 advancers on the index against 25 decliners. The broader Topix gained 1.21 per cent to 1,624.86, marking the highest close since Sept. 3. Both the indexes clawed back from a 1-1/2-week low marked in the previous session. Wall Street's main indexes closed higher overnight as investors jumped back in to take advantage of the pullback in tech-related stocks. Also underpinning gains, Japan's core machinery orders, a leading gauge of capital spending, rebounded in July from a sharp fall in the previous month. The Cabinet Office's data showed July's core machinery orders grew 6.3 per cent. Among sectors and shares, shippers, glass and ceramics and other financial were among the top performing sectoral sub-indexes on the main … [Read more...] about Nikkei ends higher on upbeat machinery orders, US tech rebound

"This prediction takes into account a lag in local recovery due to delays in economic activity from Australia's major trading partners. We also consider the potential for a drop in economic confidence, resulting in lower consumer spending and business investment," the report said. … [Read more...] about Forrester predicts tech spend to shrink as Australia enters into recession

The business plan for any new tech device, or a new technology or infrastructure for supporting that device, directly depends on a strong and growing economy. The ecosystem of premium smartphones and tablets and all those new Internet-of-things devices rely upon robust employment levels and the abundance of disposable income. The systems and networks required to support those devices -- most notably 5G Wireless and Wi-Fi 6 -- need regular cash infusions from enthusiastic customers to justify the manual labor required to prop up their infrastructure. That labor includes digging up the planet Earth by city blocks, laying down thousands of miles of fiber optic cable, and supplementing the endcaps of millions of traffic poles and stoplights. Consider whether the space program would have come to fruition had it all been kept secret from the public. … [Read more...] about Aftershock: COVID-19’s permanent impact on tech supply chains