Category: Asia

The creator of mobile gaming phenomenon Pokemon Go is exploring more sponsorships by companies that want to attract character-hunting players to their businesses, the chief executive of developer Niantic Labs said on Tuesday. Niantic is talking with several companies interested in partnerships similar to the deal that turned nearly 3,000 McDonald’s restaurants in Japan (2702.T)…

The sale of Uber’s China operations to rival Didi Chuxing could wind up being a big win for … Apple. Here’s how. As a result of the deal, Didi owns a part of Uber and Uber owns a portion of Didi. And since Apple owns a stake in Didi, it now also owns a teeny…

SoftBank Group Corp (9984.T) reported flat first-quarter operating profit as solid earnings for its domestic telecommunications business offset losses at U.S. unit Sprint Corp (S.N). While the U.S. carrier posted wider losses in quarterly earnings this week, it also said it expected to be cash flow positive in the next financial year. “Sprint has been…

Shares in Japan have fallen with investors remaining cautious as the country’s central bank meets to discuss monetary policy. The Bank of Japan’s news conference on Friday will be watched closely any news of further stimulus measures. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index closed down 1.13% at 16,476.84. Shares in export-related companies fell as the yen…

Strong smartphone sales have helped Samsung Electronics post its best quarterly results in more than two years. Second-quarter operating profit jumped 18% to 8.1tn Korean won ($7.17bn; £5.46bn), in line with the company’s guidance issued in July. Operating profit at its mobile division soared 57% year-on-year to 4.3tn won. That is mainly driven by strong…

Coca-Cola Co (KO.N) reported lower-than-expected quarterly revenue as higher sales in North America failed to make up for weakness in many of the company’s emerging and developing markets, including China and Argentina. Shares of the world’s largest beverage maker, which also cut its full-year organic revenue growth forecast, were down 2.2 percent at $43.89 in…

The Japanese video game developer said Wednesday it’s delaying the release of Pokemon Go Plus, an accessory for the wildly popular smartphone game. It also posted a net loss of $233 million for the latest quarter. On Monday, the company’s shares plunged after it said that Pokemon Go will have only a “limited” effect on…

The Bank of Japan will likely cut next fiscal year’s inflation forecast only slightly and largely maintain its upbeat view for 2018 at a policy review next week, sources said, an outlook which could allow it to argue there is no need for imminent monetary easing. Hyped-up speculation of radical BOJ policy action has whipsawed…

Crude futures were on track for weekly losses on Friday as investors reassessed U.S. data on oil stocks and excesses in oil products in Europe and Asia. While many expect global oversupply of oil to ease in the near term, huge amounts of crude remain in vessels at sea and storage tanks on land as…

Japan’s use of nuclear power is unlikely to meet a government target of returning to near pre-Fukushima levels and the world’s No.3 economy needs to get serious about boosting renewables, a senior executive at a top business lobby said. Under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s energy policies, nuclear is supposed to supply a fifth of energy…