Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial newsLatest: German investor confidence hit by virus fearsUK wage growth slows, but employment risesApple´s shares slide 5% in Frankfurt$70bn could be wiped off Apple´s value when Wall Street opensTech stocks hit by revenue warningApple: coronavirus will hurt iPhone sales 11.51am GMT Callum D´Ath, senior investment manager at Brewin Dolphin, suggests Apple´s management may be criticised for putting so much reliance on Chinese manufacturing.He writes:This is Apple´s second sales warning in 12 months where the company has blamed China-related issues. Previously it was the US/China `trade war´ and now it is the Coronavirus. As Apple supposedly has one of the best supply-chain systems in the world coupled with a very big physical presence in China, investors may question the quality of management going forward.`Looking ahead for Apple, this is probably a transitory impact to numbers as global supply-chain issues will dissipate. In addition, while this is clearly a hardware issue, the jury is still out on whether Apple is a hardware company or successful in transitioning to becoming a high-quality consumer staple company with a growing software business.`Apple (US) opens sharply lower: $310.88 -4.33%Online trading available from 0900 (GMT): https://t.co/sJybTvnyWV $AAPL#Apple pic.twitter.com/Ug431UUU8A 11.44am GMT China´s president, Xi Jinping, has insisted that the country´s economy won´t be derailed by the coronavirus crisis, and can still hits its growth targets. Reuters has the details:China can meet its economic growth target in 2020 despite the impact of the coronavirus outbreak, state television quoted President Xi Jinping as saying on Tuesday.Xi said the economy remained resilient as efforts to control the outbreak reached a critical stage. *XI SAYS CORONAVIRUS IMPACT ON #CHINA ECONOMY IS TEMPORARY: CCTV*CHINA TO CUT SOCIAL INSURANCE FEES FOR FIRMS AMID VIRUS: CCTV*CHINA STATE COUNCIL EMPHASIZES EMPLOYMENT ...
|