Trump, tariffs, and trouble: Tamil Nadu's textile hubs caught unawares, pray for tariff reversal
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
2 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Why Amazon's Massive Retail Business Is No Longer Enough
The company's generally strong second-quarter report late Thursday was marred by what was considered a disappointing showing by its Amazon Web Services cloud-computing business. AWS revenue grew 17% from a year earlier to about $30.9 billion, which was largely flat with the growth rate shown the previous quarter and merely in line with Wall Street's projections. That came after rivals Microsoft and Alphabet's Google reported accelerating growth in their own cloud units for the same period. When pressed about AWS growth on the company's earnings call, Amazon Chief Executive Andy Jassy noted that 'we have a meaningfully larger business in the AWS segment than others.' He is right—to an extent. Microsoft said Wednesday that its Azure cloud-computing arm just surpassed $75 billion in annual revenue, which is about 36% below the $116 billion AWS is currently generating. But Azure doesn't include all of Microsoft's cloud offerings, or even all of its efforts in generative AI services such as Copilot. Microsoft said Wednesday that revenue for its total Microsoft Cloud business increased 27% year over year to $46.7 billion for the June quarter. And that was a sharp acceleration of 7 percentage points from the growth reported for the March quarter. Microsoft's shares rose nearly 4% Thursday after its report. Amazon's stock was down more than 6% in after-hours trading after its results. The irony is that the relative weakness in Amazon's cloud business comes as the company's retail side is humming. The online stores division—which reflects the products Amazon sells itself over its website—saw sales jump 11% year over year to $61.5 billion. That is the best growth rate for that unit since early 2021 when Amazon was still benefiting from a Covid-19-induced online shopping spree. North American operating income that reflects the bulk of Amazon's retail business hit $7.5 billion—34% ahead of Wall Street's projections. And that comes in a quarter clouded by questions about tariffs and the health of consumer spending. Still, given what Amazon, Microsoft and Google are spending to build up generative AI capabilities, trends in their respective cloud-computing arms are watched closely for signs of a return on that investment. And those amounts are getting even more staggering. Amazon said Thursday its cash capital expenditures of $31.4 billion in the second quarter are 'reasonably representative' of what it will spend in the next two periods, which would bring the year's total to about $118 billion. That is nearly double what Amazon averaged over the previous five years, which included a massive step up in investments in the company's order-fulfillment network. And that isn't cheap even for a company that now sells $670 billion of goods and services annually. Amazon's free cash flow is expected to slip 6% this year despite a projected 9% increase in sales, according to consensus estimates from Visible Alpha. Amazon's big-spending, Big Tech rivals are in the same boat. But Microsoft, Google and Meta Platforms gave investors plenty of good news in their latest reports that softened the blow of those big bills. If Amazon is going to sell its AI vision, it will need AWS to pack a bigger punch. Write to Dan Gallagher at
The Journal
3 hours ago
- The Journal
US taxi app Lyft completes acquisition of Freenow for around €175m
US RIDE-HAILING GIANT Lyft has completed its acquisition of taxi app Freenow. In April, Lyft announced it had entered a definitive agreement, for around €175 million , to acquire Freenow from its current owners, German carmakers BMW and Mercedes-Benz. In a statement yesterday, Lyft announced that the acquisition has been completed. Lyft is a North American ride hailing app, that offers rideshare, bikes and scooters – it's second only to Uber in the US market for allowing users book trips with its drivers. Lyft had 23.7 million active riders in 2024. Advertisement In a statement, Lyft said the move will see the two companies 'join forces to seize the incredible opportunity of doubling Lyft's current addressable market to more than 300 billion personal vehicle trips per year'. Lyft CEO David Risher said the move will 'bring out the best of each company to the other' while Freenow CEO Thomas Zimmerman said that for European users of the app, the service will be 'amplified'. 'With Lyft's platform and resources behind us, we can innovate faster and serve drivers, passengers, and city partners even better,' Zimmerman added. For users of the Freenow app, they will be prompted to download Lyft whenever they use Freenow in the US and Canada. Lyft also said that in the coming months, European users will 'experience more consistent pricing and faster matchings'. Meanwhile, Freenow drivers are told to expect more rides as Lyft users will be prompted to download Freenow whenever they are in Europe. Lyft also noted that around 50% of taxi bookings in Europe take place offline and that it is 'committed to strengthen Freenow's leadership in the taxi industry, backed by decades of trusted partnerships with regulators, cities, unions, and fleet operators'. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Cocoa Prices Sharply Lower on the Outlook for Adequate Supplies
September ICE NY cocoa (CCU25) on Friday closed down -274 (-3.22%), and September ICE London cocoa #7 (CAU25) closed down -165 (-2.92%). Cocoa prices settled sharply lower Friday as supply concerns eased on speculation that cocoa will be exempt from President Trump's tariffs. US Commerce Secretary Lutnick noted earlier this week that goods not produced in the US could be exempted from tariffs. More News from Barchart Brazil Tariff Risks Underpin Arabica Coffee Prices Arabica Coffee Rises as Tariff Risks Remain Cocoa Prices Settle Sharply Higher on Supply Woes Stop Missing Market Moves: Get the FREE Barchart Brief – your midday dose of stock movers, trending sectors, and actionable trade ideas, delivered right to your inbox. Sign Up Now! Earlier this week, cocoa prices rallied to 1-month highs on concern that the slowdown in the pace of Ivory Coast cocoa exports could tighten global supplies. Monday's government data showed that Ivory Coast farmers shipped 1.75 MMT of cocoa to ports this marketing year from October 1 to July 27, up +6.1% from last year but down from the much larger +35% increase seen in December. Concerns about dry weather in West Africa are also bullish for cocoa prices. According to the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, rainfall in the Ivory Coast and Ghana this season remains below the 30-year average, and combined with high temperatures, risks hurting cocoa pod development for the main crop harvest that starts in October. Concerns over tepid chocolate demand are bearish for cocoa prices. Last Tuesday, chocolate maker Lindt & Spruengli AG lowered its margin guidance for the year due to a larger-than-expected decline in first-half chocolate sales. Also, chocolate maker Barry Callebaut AG reduced its sales volume guidance earlier this month for a second time in three months, citing persistently high cocoa prices. The company projects a decline in full-year sales volume and reported a -9.5% drop in its sales volume for the March-May period, the largest quarterly decline in a decade. Cocoa prices sold off last month, with NY cocoa sinking to an 8.5-month nearest-futures low and London cocoa slumping to a 17-month nearest-futures low. Weakness in global cocoa demand has hammered prices. The European Cocoa Association reported on July 17 that Q2 European cocoa grindings fell by -7.2% y/y to 331,762 MT, a bigger decline than expectations of -5% y/y. Also, the Cocoa Association of Asia reported that Q2 Asian cocoa grindings fell -16.3% y/y to 176,644 MT, the smallest amount for a Q2 in 8 years. North American Q2 cocoa grindings fell -2.8% y/y to 101,865 MT, which was a smaller decline than the declines seen in Asia and Europe. In a bearish development, ICE-monitored cocoa inventories held in US ports reached a 10.5-month high of 2,368,141 bags last Tuesday. Higher cocoa production by Ghana is bearish for cocoa prices. On July 1, the Ghana Cocoa Board projected the 2025/26 Ghana cocoa crop would increase by +8.3% y/y to 650,000 from 600,000 MT in 2024/25. Ghana is the world's second-largest cocoa producer. Cocoa prices have support from quality concerns regarding the Ivory Coast's mid-crop cocoa, which is currently being harvested through September. Cocoa processors are complaining about the quality of the crop and have rejected truckloads of Ivory Coast cocoa beans. Processors reported that about 5% to 6% of the mid-crop cocoa in each truckload is of poor quality, compared with 1% during the main crop. According to Rabobank, the poor quality of the Ivory Coast's mid-crop is partly attributed to late-arriving rain in the region, which limited crop growth. The mid-crop is the smaller of the two annual cocoa harvests, which typically starts in April. The average estimate for this year's Ivory Coast mid-crop is 400,000 MT, down -9% from last year's 440,000 MT. On May 30, the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) revised its 2023/24 global cocoa deficit to -494,000 MT from a February estimate of -441,000 MT, the largest deficit in over 60 years. ICCO said 2023/24 cocoa production fell by 13.1% y/y to 4.380 MMT. ICCO stated that the 2023/24 global cocoa stocks-to-grindings ratio declined to a 46-year low of 27.0%. Looking ahead to 2024/25, ICCO on February 28 forecasted a global cocoa surplus of 142,000 MT for 2024/25, the first surplus in four years. ICCO also projected that 2024/25 global cocoa production will rise +7.8% y/y to 4.84 MMT. On the date of publication, Rich Asplund did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on
