The relevant departments in Hangzhou and Xi’an recently announced the complete cancellation of housing purchase restrictions. According to the notice published by the Hangzhou Real Estate Market Stable and Healthy Development Leadership Group Office on May 9, there will no longer be a review of qualifications for purchasing housing within Hangzhou. At the same time, several departments in Xi’an jointly issued a notice, emphasizing the removal of Xi’an’s housing purchase restrictions, stating that resident families will no longer need a review of their qualifications when purchasing new commercial properties or second-hand houses in the city.
On another note, Baidu’s Vice President Qu Jing has resigned. According to internal sources, Qu Jing has formally parted ways with the company. Previously, she drew public attention due to personal comments made on social media, and subsequently issued a public apology. Later, Qu Jing’s social media accounts were updated with her apology statement. Although Qu Jing deleted the controversial video content, her number of online followers has risen. Currently, her follower count is close to one million.
In the financial sector, the market value of the company Mengniu Dairy’s Miao Ke Lan Duo evaporated by more than 36.5 billion yuan (RMB) in less than three years. Since the stock price peaked at 84.5 yuan in May 2021, Miao Ke Lan Duo’s shares have seen a continued decline. By the close of April 11, the shares were valued at only 13.3 yuan each. The major shareholder, Mengniu, has faced an accounted loss of at least 2 billion yuan. After a decline in net profit in 2022, Miao Ke Lan Duo’s revenue and net profit for 2023 have both dropped by double digits. CEO Chai Xiu revealed in an event that the company’s financial statements were unsatisfactory due to supply chain issues and rising costs. She pointed out that Miao Ke Lan Duo is striving to reduce dependency on imports and build their own brand moat while hoping to construct a cost advantage as the company scales.
Recently, news released concerning Huawei’s HiSilicon Semiconductor has attracted attention in the industry. According to claims, senior management mentioned in an internal letter that the “Ta Shan battle” contingency plan will focus on advancing PC chips and will officially begin on May 9, speeding up the introduction of products equipped with the “Kirin X series (tentatively named)” PC platform. In response to this, a Huawei representative explicitly denied the news, stating it was false information.
In other news, the U.S. government has expressed concerns about the safety of connected vehicles made in China. U.S. Commerce Secretary Raimondo emphasized the “potential national security risks” that Chinese connected vehicles might pose. The Department of Commerce is reviewing the public comments collected earlier on this topic. Reports indicate that Raimondo said the U.S. might consider a range of measures to address potential risks, including the possibility of completely banning the entry of these vehicles.
In the consumer market, the recent batch listing of durians in Kunming has led to a significant drop in their prices. It is reported that the wholesale price per kilogram has dropped by about 20 yuan, with the current wholesale price of durians ranging from 15 to 25 yuan per kilogram depending on the quality, while the retail price fluctuates between 18 to 48 yuan per kilogram.
Domestic related policies have also welcomed new dynamics. Ministry of Commerce spokesperson He Yadong introduced that the “Detailed Rules for the Implementation of the Subsidy for the Trade-in of Old Cars for New Ones,” jointly issued by the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Finance and other departments, has received widespread attention. These “Implementation Details” offer a one-time fixed subsidy from the date of issue until the end of 2024 for personal consumers who scrap old cars while purchasing new energy or energy-saving vehicles.
As for expectations of the audience in international sports competitions, a survey report shows that it is expected that more than half of the global audience plans to watch the Paris Olympics this summer. The related data mentioned that among the interviewed countries, Australian audiences are the most interested, with more than half of respondents expressing their intention to watch the games.
- Online purchased gold products cause disputes due to the inaccuracy of the description of weight and material, with some merchants selling counterfeit gold by using forged brands or certificates.
- There are cases where stores close suddenly and lose contact, resulting in consumers being unable to redeem the gold they purchased for entrusted custody upon maturity.
- The “fixed price sale” of gold jewelry has been found to have numerous issues. Some merchants deliberately conceal the exact weight and repurchase policy of gold jewelry, preventing consumers from obtaining necessary information during purchase, and requiring pricing based on weight during exchange.
- The Dow Jones Index rose by 0.85%, maintaining an upward trend for the seventh consecutive day.
- The S&P 500 Index increased by 0.51%.
- The Nasdaq Index rose by 0.27%.
Many large tech stocks showed growth, with Apple’s stock price rising by 1%, Amazon’s stock price increasing by 0.8% to a new historical high, and other tech stocks such as Meta, Google, and Microsoft also saw slight increases; while Tesla and Nvidia’s stock prices fell by more than 1%. Meanwhile, many popular Chinese concept stocks appreciated significantly, with Xpeng Motors rising by more than 3%, and Bilibili, Weibo, NIO, NetEase, JD.com, Alibaba, Futu Holdings, Baidu, and Li Auto all increasing by more than 1%; Pinduoduo, however, fell by 2%.
The conference gathered the three major elements of technology achievement transformation, capital, and market. Through technology transactions, investment and financing, as well as strategic cooperation, several of the 11 projects present at the event reached agreements. In particular, several key technological projects from Beijing Institute of Technology, such as “Adaptive Antenna Array Technology for Satellite Navigation Signal Reception and GNSS Satellite Navigation Receiver Technology,” have reached cooperation agreements with technology innovation enterprises.
Through a project called “Flexible Magnetic Levitation” (FLOAT), with the goal of establishing an autonomous, reliable, and efficient lunar resource transportation system. This maglev train will utilize flexible graphite layer tracks and combine the power provided by solar panels, enabling magnetic robots to levitate and move on the tracks without other energy sources. It is planned to cover at least 1.8 kilometers per hour and transport 100 tons of goods per day. The project is expected to be completed before 2030 and will become one of the key infrastructures supporting lunar resource development.
The commemorative model is a gray BMW i5 electric vehicle. BMW emphasizes that this achievement is due to the efficient work of 1,047 robots on the production line and an automation rate of over 95%. Each car is meticulously inspected by automated optical inspection equipment, including more than 100,000 high-definition body photos, ensuring high-quality production standards.
According to the recent industry report “China Zero Emission Freight Annual Progress Report 2023,” hydrogen fuel cell trucks are expected to reach cost parity with traditional fuel trucks between 2030 and 2035. The report, released at the annual Zero Emission Freight Action Conference, pointed out that mileage and transport efficiency are key factors for electric trucks. At the same time, government fiscal subsidies have played a crucial role in reducing the purchase costs of these clean-energy heavy trucks, and innovative financial tools have provided relief for logistics companies to purchase these vehicles.
In the automotive trade sector, the CEO of BMW Group, Oliver Zipse, openly expressed his view on the European Union’s potential levy of additional tariffs on electric vehicles imported from China. On May 8th, he clearly stated that such a move by the EU would be damaging and unbeneficial, emphasizing that the European automotive industry does not need to rely on trade protection measures. Zipse also mentioned that increasing the tax burden could affect the EU’s carbon emission reduction targets.
In the consumer electronics sector, Apple announced on May 9th that the new iPad will no longer include a charger by default. This decision was first applied to its tablet product line, following a similar move by the tech giant in its iPhone packaging. The official explanation from Apple was aimed at reducing unnecessary resource waste and better protecting the environment, especially for those who already own an iPhone and can use the same charger. Although this change might benefit Apple economically, it means additional costs for users who need to purchase a charger separately.
On the job market front, a report from May 9th indicated that Tesla is intensifying its staff cuts within its Shanghai Gigafactory. The layoffs are understood to cover various positions from customer service to engineers, and from production line workers to logistics teams. The exact scale of the layoffs and the specific impact on the company have not been disclosed. It is rumored that Tesla will provide some financial compensation to the laid-off employees, calculated at one month’s salary for each year worked.
Regarding the future leadership of Apple Inc., since Tim Cook succeeded Steve Jobs as CEO in 2011, there has been widespread speculation about his potential successor. According to tech industry reports and some sources familiar with Apple’s internal affairs, if Cook were to step down in the near future, Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams might become his successor. However, if Cook remains CEO for at least another three years, then John Ternus, the 49-year-old Senior Vice President in charge of hardware engineering, is expected to be the strongest candidate to lead Apple.
Intel recently revealed in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that due to the U.S. Department of Commerce revoking certain licenses for exporting consumer-related products to Chinese customers, the company expects its actual earnings for the second quarter of 2024 to be lower than previously anticipated. Intel had predicted its second-quarter revenue to be in the range of $12.5 billion to $13.5 billion, but now expects it to fall below the midpoint of this range.
Nintendo recently announced that its interactive gaming platform Switch will cease its integrated service with the social media platform X (formerly Twitter). From June 10, 2023, users of the platform will no longer be able to send friend requests through Switch to X, nor will they be able to post screenshots and videos from the Switch’s album menu to X. Nevertheless, Nintendo confirmed that the functionality to post screenshots and videos to Facebook will remain, and hinted that this service might also be discontinued in the future.
Softbank has successfully secured a loan of 76 billion Japanese yen to support its acquisition of the Irish company Cubic Telecom. The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) stated that they had signed a loan agreement with Softbank that involves multiple banks, including Mizuho Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation. This loan provides part of the necessary funds for Softbank’s acquisition of Cubic Telecom.
Blackstone Group President Jon Gray anticipates a slowdown in economic growth, predicting the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) may only cut interest rates once this year. Gray made his forecast at the Macquarie Australia Conference in Sydney, noting that persistent inflation could constrain the Fed’s ability to start reducing borrowing costs. He mentioned that central banks around the world tend to slowly reduce interest rates to avoid a resurgence of inflation.
Alibaba Cloud announced the release of Tongyi Qianwen 2.5, which has surpassed GPT-4 Turbo in overall performance comparison. According to related sources, the latest iteration of Tongyi Qianwen’s 110 billion-parameter model has achieved excellent results in several benchmark assessments. In addition, the Tongyi large model brand has been upgraded, with the original “Tongyi Qianwen App” being renamed to “Tongyi App,” offering free services that integrate the full stack capabilities of the Tongyi large model.
Meta Platforms is introducing a range of new tools based on generative artificial intelligence (AI) for its advertising clients. These new features will allow Meta’s 10 million advertisers to upload product images and then generate new image versions and ad copy for marketing purposes. The added generative tools are developed on top of the old simple image editing features and will soon be supported by the company’s latest large-scale language model, Llama 3.
With the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) technology, Galaxy Securities’ latest research report has analyzed the current and future risks and opportunities of the AI industry. The report notes that the global penetration rate of the AI industry is still at an early stage, indicating significant potential for growth. Nonetheless, the development of this field faces challenges, such as the unexpectedly high capital expenditure of overseas tech giants, the ongoing strong demand for training large-scale AI models, and supply restrictions hampering computational power needed for inference.
The report further predicts trends in global AI technology, including the convergence trend of general-purpose large models and their gradual shift towards edge devices. As technology continuously advances, a large amount of AI inference work in the future will be conducted on emerging end-devices such as smartphones, personal computers, cars, extended reality (XR), and smart homes.
In specific corporate actions, Apple Inc plans to use its own server chips to support the upcoming AI tools this year, highlighting its efforts to strengthen AI capabilities within its product lineup. Reportedly, Apple will adopt high-performance chips—similar to those designed for the Mac—to handle the most complex AI tasks on cloud computing servers.
In terms of innovation in memory products, Micron Technology announced that it is the first manufacturer in the industry to validate and ship 128GB DDR5 RDIMM memory, based on a high-capacity 32Gb single-die DRAM chip. This high-speed memory module is designed for mission-critical data center applications, supporting AI and machine learning, high-performance computing, in-memory databases, and other workloads with demanding processing requirements.
Financially, Airbnb announced in its financial report that its revenue for the first quarter of fiscal year 2024 reached $2.142 billion, an 18% increase year over year, with net profit soaring by 126%. As the market steadily recovers, the company’s performance reflects a strong resurgence in customer demand.
Another notable performance comes from the report by BeiGene, which achieved a total revenue of $752 million in the first quarter of 2024, a 68% increase from the same period the previous year, showing a strong momentum of growth in product revenue. At the same time, the company’s gross profit increased by 71.23% year over year. Despite a 13% increase in R&D expenses, the net loss narrowed by 27.9% year over year, indicating signs of positive financial condition improvement.
Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation’s recent financial report shows that its sales revenue for the first quarter was $460 million. Compared to $630.8 million in the same period last year, this year’s revenue has declined. From a quarterly perspective, the sales revenue for the last quarter was $455.4 million. The profit attributable to the owners of the parent company for this quarter was $31.8 million, compared to $152.2 million in the same period last year and $35.4 million in the previous quarter. Currently, the company expects sales revenue for the second quarter to be between $470 million and $500 million, with a gross margin of about 6% to 10%.
“Guoke Tanmei” successfully completed an angel+ round of financing of RMB 100 million. The financing was led by Lihe Capital, with participation from renowned investment institutions such as Shenneng Chengyi, Dongfang Jiafu, Superpower Group, Hongyu Capital, Cuiying Venture Capital, Guohua Investment, Changxing JinKong, Hurong Venture Capital, and Leyun Capital. The funds obtained will be mainly used to promote the development of the thousand-ton hard carbon production line, as well as the construction of material research and development and testing platforms.
“Chuangleng Technology” has obtained several hundred million yuan in Series A financing. This marks the company’s fourth round of financing within the past two years. The investors in this round include Xincheng Capital, Beyond Era Technology Holdings, and Hong Kong and China Gas, with participation from old shareholders such as HKX Fund. The funds raised will be mainly used for technological research and development of Chuangleng Technology, expansion of product lines, and global market development.
“Huiyao Pinshang Energy Technology” recently announced the completion of over RMB 100 million in Series A and A+ round of financing. Dacheng Finance led the investment, with participation from Qingke Industrial Investment and Nuotie Assets, supported by Qingtong Capital as the exclusive financial advisor. The fund will be primarily used for the development of new flexible photovoltaic bracket systems, construction of intelligent manufacturing bases, perfection of the supply chain system, and expansion of domestic and international markets.
The apparel brand “TOP FAVOR” has successfully completed its fourth round of financing. This round of financing was led by individual investors from the Middle East, and the funds will be mainly invested in the application of artificial intelligence technology, the establishment of sales channels, and the construction of the talent team.
Insiders reveal that Elon Musk’s xAI is expected to complete a round of financing this week, potentially valued at up to $18 billion. Although the exact scale of the financing has not been determined, it could represent a significant fundraising event for the company. Media reports have indicated that famous investment institutions such as Sequoia Capital may participate in this financing, aiming to raise up to $6 billion. However, these details are still under discussion, and the valuation and timetable may change.
Apple recently launched the iPad Pro with the M4 chip and the new iPad Air with the M2 chip. The official website revealed some details not mentioned at the release event, an important change is that the new iPads will no longer support physical SIM cards, marking a significant update in Apple product design.
Apple’s recently released new iPad Pro and iPad Air have undergone a noticeable change in design; they no longer come equipped with a physical SIM card slot. This means that the cellular versions of these two devices will rely entirely on eSIM technology. Apple states that, with eSIM, users can conveniently activate and use wireless data services in over 190 countries and regions around the world on these new iPads without the need for a traditional physical SIM card.
Furthermore, two Chinese cities, Hangzhou and Xi’an, have also seen a loosening of market policies, announcing the complete abolition of housing purchase restrictions, providing citizens with more freedom and convenience in buying homes.
[ad_2]
