Business

Japanese wireless carrier SoftBank Corp on Tuesday reported a 4% rise in firstquarter operating profit, beating analyst estimates, supported by its enterprise and internet businesses.

German fashion house Hugo Boss said on Tuesday it had returned to strong growth in China in June and online sales jumped 74% in the second quarter even as it reported an overall 59% fall in sales for the period on Tuesday due to lockdowns.

Subaru Corp on Tuesday forecast its annual operating profit would drop to a nineyear low this year as it expects to take a sales hit in the United States, its largest market where the number of coronavirus infections continues to climb.

Gold prices held steady near record highs on Tuesday as worries over the global economic fallout from mounting COVID19 cases offset pressure from a rebound in the U.S. dollar.

Australia's retailers are facing a consumption drought as the country's second biggest state locks down to fight the coronavirus and as data showed sales volumes suffered their biggest plunge in two decades in the second quarter.

Asia's gasoline refining margins nearly burned up in July, dropping to just above zero in the worst profit performance for refined fuels over the month as a new wave of coronavirus infections walloped demand recovery and swelled supplies.

Wall Street's main indexes rose on Monday as a rebound in multibillion dollar deals, including Microsoft's pursuit of TikTok's U.S. operations, lifted sentiment in the absence of a fiscal coronavirus relief bill.

Oil prices steadied on Monday, pressured by rising COVID19 cases around the globe and by oversupply worries as OPEC and its allies are set to wind back output cuts in August, but supported by positive industry data in Europe and Asia.

A decline in U.S. Treasury yields over recent weeks has investors eyeing the approach of an unusual phenomenon the entire U.S. yield curve sinking below 1%.

Healthcare company Sanofi Aventis France said it had been placed under formal investigation on charges of manslaughter over Depakine, which is an epilepsy drug that caused birth malfunctions and slow neurological development when taken during pregnancy.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc wants to hire another 10,000 employees in coming months as its sales rebound, an official said, one of several big restaurant chains looking to add staff in an economy otherwise dimmed by the coronavirus pandemic.

Euro zone manufacturing activity expanded modestly last month, its first growth since early 2019, and Asia's pain eased as the contraction slowed in exportreliant nations, adding to hopes the sector is emerging from the hit of the coronavirus pandemic.

Oil prices fell on Monday on oversupply worries as OPEC and its allies are set to wind back output cuts in August and a rise in worldwide COVID19 cases points to a slower pickup in demand.

The headline seasonally adjusted IHS Markit India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) stood at 46 in July, down from 47.2 in June.

Japan's economy shrank an annualised 2.2% in JanuaryMarch, unchanged after a second revision, data from the Cabinet Office showed on Monday.

British Trade Minister Liz Truss will meet top U.S. officials in Washington in coming days to assess progress on reaching a free trade agreement between the two countries, a spokesman for the U.S. Trade Representative's Office said on Saturday.