Chinese police probe kickbacks by Foxconn managers

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) -- Hon Hai Precision, a leading maker of iPhones and other high-tech gadgets, has said it is working with Chinese police probing allegations that employees of its Foxconn unit solicited kickbacks from suppliers.
Hon Hai said in a statement late Wednesday that it will "thoroughly investigate" the alleged kickback case and also review its procurement procedures to close any possible loopholes.
It said its operations in China had not been affected by the case.
Foxconn produces iPhones and iPads for Apple and also assembles products for global firms including Microsoft Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co.
Taiwan's "Next" weekly reported earlier this week that a Foxconn manager had been detained by police in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen over bribery allegations.
The island's China Times newspaper quoted unidentified sources as saying Hon Hai is investigating a dozen other employees suspected of having taken bribes and that it has suspended its purchases from an equipment maker accused of offering bribes to the employees.
Hon Hai employs 1.2 million people in some 20 factories across China.
The company has previously come under scrutiny for labor policies that allegedly led a dozen workers to commit suicide.
The latest allegation has raised questions about the electronics giant's internal management problems amid its rapid expansion to keep up with growing demand for its components.

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Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile all confirm upcoming BlackBerry 10 launches

Research In Motion’s (RIMM) next-generation smartphone platform has received all-important nods from three of the four major nationwide carriers in the United States. Following official endorsements from some international carriers, executives at Verizon Wireless (VZ), AT&T (T) and T-Mobile have each confirmed to Reuters that they will carry BlackBerry 10 devices some time after the new operating system’s debut later this month.
[More from BGR: iPhone 5 now available with unlimited service, no contract on Walmart’s $45 Straight Talk plan]
The carriers didn’t sound terribly enthusiastic in all cases — ”We’re hopeful it’s going to be a good device,” was all Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam would offer Reuters — but RIM did get an exuberant thumbs-up from at least one chief executive. ”We’re extremely optimistic that it’s going to be a successful product and our business customers are extremely interested in it,” T-Mobile CEO John Legere said.

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Is BlackBerry back? Strong early BlackBerry 10 demand could signal RIM comeback

After hitting a rough patch that seemed to last for most of 2012, Research In Motion (RIMM) may finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. RIM plans to unveil the finished version of its next-generation BlackBerry 10 platform at a press conference on January 30th, and at least one new smartphone is expected to be revealed during the event. Generating interest in BlackBerry 10 within the crowded global smartphone market will be no easy task for the struggling vendor, but if demand at top Canadian carrier Rogers is any indication, RIM is off to a promising start.
[More from BGR: ‘Apple is done’ and Surface tablet is cool, according to teens]
In mid-December, Rogers began taking reservations for RIM’s first BlackBerry 10-powered handset. The carrier offered almost no information about the BlackBerry smartphone, which has not yet been announced, but asked subscribers interested in purchasing the device to register on the company’s website.
[More from BGR: iPhone 5 now available with unlimited service, no contract on Walmart’s $45 Straight Talk plan]
BGR approached Rogers on Thursday to see how subscriber response has been thus far.
“While we can’t release the total number of reservations we have received for the BlackBerry 10 all-touch device, we can say that customer interest is definitely strong and reservations continue daily,” a Rogers spokesperson told BGR via email.
The strong response from Rogers subscribers despite being provided only with the knowledge that the device will feature an all-touch form factor and will run the BlackBerry 10 OS is a good sign for RIM.
The vendor has a number of difficult challenges ahead, and convincing current BlackBerry users to upgrade en masse is near the top of the list. Strong early demand at Rogers for RIM’s first BlackBerry 10 handset is clearly a positive sign in this regard, as most early reservations likely came from current BlackBerry subscribers.

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Global shares, dollar down ahead of earnings, bonds rise

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Global shares fell and bond prices rose on Tuesday, with investors cautious ahead of a U.S. earnings season expected to show sluggish growth in quarterly corporate profits.
The dollar and euro fell against the yen as investors booked profits in the aftermath of swift and significant gains, but looser Bank of Japan monetary policy should limit the yen's upside.
The dollar was last down 0.75 percent at 87.11 yen, well off a 2-1/2-year high hit last Friday. The euro fell 1.02 percent at 113.96 yen.
U.S. corporate profits are expected to be higher than the third quarter's lackluster results, but analysts' estimates are down sharply from where they were in October.
Quarterly earnings are expected to grow 2.8 percent, according to Thomson Reuters data.
Alcoa Inc reported a fourth-quarter profit of $242 million as cost cuts helped offset a drop in aluminum prices, marking the unofficial start to the earnings season as the first Dow component to release results.
Alcoa shares rose 7 cents to $9.20 in after-hours trade after closing 0.33 percent higher at $9.13 from Monday's close.
Early reports have suggested some signs of improvement. Monsanto Co reported strong first-quarter results and raised its full-year outlook, sending its shares 2.67 percent higher to close at $98.50.
Sears Holding Corp reported sales for the holiday season that were not as weak as many had feared, but the stock sank as the company's chief executive stepped down unexpectedly. Shares fell 6.43 percent to $40.16.
If earnings growth appears to be "less bad" than expected, that would fuel a near-term uptick in the market, according to Eric Wiegand, senior portfolio manager at U.S. Bank Wealth Management in New York. "There are still ample areas for concern," he added, citing policy worries in Washington and uneven economic growth.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 55.44 points, or 0.41 percent, at 13,328.85. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 4.74 points, or 0.32 percent, to 1,457.15. The Nasdaq Composite Index slid 7.01 points, or 0.23 percent, at 3,091.81.
Global shares measured by MSCI's all-country world index <.miwd00000pus> fell 0.33 percent to 345.73.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares closed down 0.1 percent at 1,160.20 as data showed the euro zone economy may be stabilizing, though at a weak level.
The euro slid 0.25 to 1.3082 against the dollar.
Euro zone business confidence improved again in December, but unemployment reached a record and households held back from spending in the run-up to Christmas, suggesting a recovery from recession will be slow. German industrial orders also fell more than forecast due to a sharp drop in demand from abroad.
"Things are bad. It is still consistent with recession, but at least they have stopped deteriorating," said Deutsche Bank economist Gilles Moec.
Prices for U.S. Treasuries rose as higher yields proved attractive and the first sale of coupon-bearing Treasury debt for the year drew strong non-dealer bidding.
The Treasury sold $32 billion of three-year notes on Tuesday at a high yield of 0.385 percent, just about where the market had expected.
The high direct takedown in this and the previous three-year auction could signal "a shift in investor bidding patterns at auctions, where buyers bypass dealers and go straight to the Treasury, while still able to clear the auction near the WI (when-issued) levels," wrote Nomura analysts after the sale.
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note was up 10/32 in price to yield 1.8656 percent.
In commodity and metals markets, Brent crude oil rose 54 cents to settle at $111.94 per barrel, while U.S. light crude settled down 4 cents at $93.15.
Brent's premium over the U.S. West Texas Intermediate benchmark widened by more than 50 cents, with traders citing the start of the annual reweighting of the S&P GSCI commodity index, one of two leading indices for investors.
Copper rose 0.1 percent and gold rose $12.26 to $1,658.90 ahead of data on Thursday from China and the monthly meeting of the European Central Bank.
"The market is underpinned by expectations that a cyclical rebounding out of China will be positive for industrial metals, and there is more positive sentiment now in the market," said Robin Bhar, analyst at Societe Generale.

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Alcoa sees brighter 2013, but remains cautious

(Reuters) - Alcoa Inc , the largest aluminum producer in the U.S., expressed cautious optimism that demand for the metal will continue to grow in 2013, helped in part by global growth in the aerospace and construction markets.
The company posted a fourth-quarter profit on Tuesday, in line with Wall Street expectations, and handily beat expectations on revenue, helping calm investors' nerves after a rocky 2012.
"I'm more optimistic that 2013 is a year with upside potential compared to where we came from," Alcoa Chief Executive Klaus Kleinfeld told CNBC on Tuesday.
Shares of Alcoa rose 1.3 percent in after-hours trading, as investors were buoyed by Alcoa's turn to profit.
Analysts breathed a sigh of relief from the results of the first S&P 500 company to report fourth-quarter results, hoping it was a sign of things to come.
"I think it was a good solid quarter. Not a barnburner but a good quarter," said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment officer at Solaris Asset Management in Bedford Hills. "It's certainly important in this type of environment to look at revenues."
Investors tend to scrutinize Alcoa's results for hints on where the overall economy is headed, as the company's aluminum products are used in the automotive, appliance and airline industries.
The company said it expects global aluminum consumption growth of 7 percent in 2013, up slightly from 6 percent in 2012. Alcoa continues to forecast a doubling of global aluminum demand between 2010 and 2020.
Alcoa forecasts global growth in the aerospace, automotive and construction markets, among other industries, in 2013.
PROFIT IN LINE
The earnings were a positive turn for Alcoa, whose core business of mining bauxite and producing aluminum has been hit in recent years by a persistently low metal price.
For the fourth quarter, the company reported net income of $242 million, or 21 cents per share, compared with a net loss of $191 million, or 18 cents per share, in the year-ago period.
Excluding one-time items, net income was $64 million, or 6 cents per share, in line with average analysts' expectations of 6 cents a share on revenue of $5.6 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Sales were $5.89 billion, beating analysts' expectations, but down 1.5 percent from the year-ago quarter as the average realized price per tonne of aluminum fell slightly.
Alcoa trimmed costs by 12 percent in the fourth quarter, due in part to fewer restructuring expenses.
The company's realized price for aluminum fell roughly 11 percent in 2012.

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Alcoa earnings as expected, revenue tops forecasts

NEW YORK (AP) -- Alcoa Inc. on Tuesday reported fourth-quarter earnings that met Wall Street's expectations, and the company said it expects slightly higher demand for aluminum this year.
The sluggish global economy has weakened prices for aluminum used in everything from airplanes to soda cans.
But Alcoa forecast demand growing 7 percent in 2013, up from a 6 percent gain in 2012. It sees the best prospects in aerospace but slower improvement in demand for autos, packaging, and building and construction materials.
Separately, the company announced that Chief Financial Officer Charles D. McLane Jr., 59, will retire and be replaced by William F. Oplinger, the chief operating officer of Alcoa's primary-products business unit. The change will happen April 1.
Oplinger, 45, joined Alcoa in 2000 and has held several finance and planning jobs. He is on the executive council, which plots company strategy.
In the fourth quarter, Alcoa's net income was $242 million, or 21 cents per share. That includes one-time gains like income from selling a hydroelectric project on the Tennessee-North Carolina border.
Without those gains, the company would have made 6 cents per share — exactly what analysts expected, according to FactSet — on revenue of $5.90 billion. Sales were higher than the $5.58 billion that analysts predicted.
A year ago, the company posted a fourth-quarter loss of $191 million, or 18 cents per share, on revenue of $5.99 billion, and a loss after special items of 3 cents per share.
The company said it hit record profits in its aluminum-rolling and product-making businesses while cutting costs in its mining and refining or "upstream" segment.
Chairman and CEO Klaus Kleinfeld said the company overcame volatile aluminum prices and global economic weakness and was in "strong position to maximize profitable growth" in 2013.
Kleinfeld said aerospace sales were helped by aircraft-order backlogs at Airbus and Boeing, plus improved profits at the world's airlines.
The price that Alcoa received for aluminum fell 2 percent from a year ago but rose nearly 5 percent from the third quarter. Shipments were flat from a year ago.
The low prices were a factor in the announcement last month by Moody's Investor Service that it could downgrade Alcoa's credit rating to junk status. Alcoa has been trying to reduce debt to keep its investment-grade rating. In the fourth quarter, it cut spending by 12 percent to $6.23 billion.
Alcoa is the first company in the Dow Jones industrial average to report fourth-quarter earnings. Because it makes aluminum for so many key industries, investors study Alcoa's results for clues about the health and direction of the overall economy.
Alcoa shares ended regular trading where they began, unchanged at $9.10. In after-hours trading following the earnings report, the stock rose 8 cents to $9.18.

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Golf-Rose, Dufner, Olazabal add more stardust to Qatar Masters

Jan 8 (Reuters) - Twice U.S. Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal, Briton Justin Rose and American Jason Dufner will join several other big names at this month's Qatar Masters, organisers said on Tuesday.
World number four Rose and ninth-ranked Dufner join former world number one Martin Kaymer and Ryder Cup teammates Sergio Garcia and Paul Lawrie, who announced on Monday they would play in the $2.5 million event.
Olazabal, 46, captained Europe to a memorable comeback victory over the United States in the biennial Ryder Cup in September and won his last title in 2005.
"Jose Maria Olazabal is a golfing great... he is assured of an especially warm reception at Doha Golf Club," Qatar Golf Association president Hassan Al Nuaimi said on the European Tour website (www.europeantour.com).
The Jan. 23-26 event is part of the European Tour's Middle East swing which also includes next week's Abu Dhabi Championship featuring world number one Rory McIlroy and 14-times major winner Tiger Woods and the Jan. 31-Feb. 3 Dubai Desert Classic. (Writing by Tom Pilcher, Editing by Pritha Sarkar)

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