Dell and HP report unsatisfactory quarterly revenues as worldwide PC market resurgence halts

Indications of a worldwide PC market recovery started appearing this year, yet there was a decline in shipments in the third quarter, as per IDC reports.

Dell's PC division suffered a 1% decrease in revenue, totaling US$12.1 billion in the fiscal third quarter, which did not meet expectations. Meanwhile, HP's PC department experienced a 2% increase in sales, reaching US$9.59 billion over a comparable three-month duration, yet it too failed to hit the analysts' average prediction.

"The update cycle for PCs is extending into the upcoming year," stated Yvonne McGill, the CFO of Dell, during a Tuesday teleconference with analysts post the release of the results.

The worldwide computer industry has witnessed a significant downturn in recent years, following a surge in need for new laptops during the early stages of the pandemic. This was when both students and business workers were confined to their homes.

Although recovery indications started to emerge this year, tech market research company IDC reported a decline in deliveries during the third quarter in October.

The founder of China Evergrande, Hui Ka-yan, has had his spending limited by a court in Guangzhou. Almost three years have passed since China Evergrande, formerly the biggest property developer in China, failed to repay its loans.

The Nansha District People's Court in Guangzhou has imposed spending restrictions on the company and Hui as a result of the company's non-compliance with payment obligations detailed in an enforcement notice. These restrictions, announced on Tuesday, apply to areas that are not deemed essential for life or business, according to the document.

Chinese legislation imposes several restrictions on people under financial constraints, including a ban on air travel, property buying, and enrolling their kids in private institutions. Similarly, company executives directly accountable for debt responsibilities are subject to these limitations.

From that point forward, numerous leading developers in China have failed to meet their financial obligations and are having a hard time finishing the homes they've sold in advance or finalising the refinancing arrangements they've set up with their lenders. Consequently, prospective property buyers, apprehensive about job security in a decelerating economy, have chosen to refrain from participating in the real estate market. This has further exacerbated the fiscal challenges faced by Chinese developers.

China has been promoting real estate purchases by lifting buying limitations and instructing banks to provide funding for developers to finish building houses. However, in the first ten months of this year, sales of new homes have kept on declining to approximately 6.75 trillion yuan (US$930 billion), which is roughly half of their highest point in 2021, based on the most recent information from China's data agency.

Commentary | No need to fear China's decision to consolidate financial sector supervision

Enhanced party dominance in the financial sector will facilitate the creation of a unified structure for more systematic decentralization.

Some maintain that strictly following guidelines set by a central authority could result in uniform market actions, which could intensify cyclical risks and create asset bubbles. Conversely, others argue that China's changes signify a major shift in its financial system, emphasizing financial institutions as service providers instead of entities driven by market forces.

However, these criticisms frequently fail to completely encompass the complexity and wider perspective of China's regulatory strategy.

Beijing has been striving to adjust the power dynamics between the central and local governments and to alleviate hidden assurances that skew market actions. However, considering China's vastness and the increasing intricacy of both local and global situations, these transformations are understandably unfolding at a slow pace.

The employment outlook in Hong Kong is deteriorating with 46% of employees feeling less optimistic about job prospects. A study by Robert Walters reveals that just over half of employers anticipate offering pay raises between 1 to 5 per cent.

Even though there has been a significant drop in openings for office jobs this year, there has been a whopping 122% increase in applications. This suggests that the market is now favoring employers, giving businesses more control, as pointed out in a study released by Robert Walters, a job placement agency.

The company conducted a survey of approximately 400 professionals and institutions in Hong Kong in September, revealing that just 55% of employers plan to increase salaries in 2025, a drop from 64% in the previous year's survey. Of these employers, 77% anticipate offering a pay hike of 1 to 5% next year.

The economy of Hong Kong is struggling due to various issues, including decreased consumer spending and the political conflict between the United States and China. This year, locals have chosen to travel across the border for more affordable food and recreation in cities on the mainland, which has resulted in a loss of the crucial increase in sales for the city's retailers.

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Residents of Hong Kong are searching for discounted items like roast chicken and soap at an American warehouse retailer located in mainland China.

The rate of growth decreased to 1.8% annually in the third quarter, down from 3.2% in the previous quarter, according to government data. The unemployment rate, after seasonal adjustments, increased to 3.1% from August to October, up from 3% in the three months prior, as per the information from the statistics department.

The clock is ticking for companies listed in Hong Kong to include women in their boards, warns Bonnie Chan from HKEX. Currently, a minimum of 250 such companies don't have even a single female board member, even though the deadline to comply is merely a month away.

In 2022, merely 16 percent of board members in corporations were female, up from 11 percent in 2018.

Chan stated at the Greater Bay Area Fintech Talent Summit, hosted by Bloomberg, the Hong Kong United Youth Association, and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, that after two years of motivation and guidance, the number of non-compliant cases has significantly decreased from 800 to approximately 250.

The conclusion of the month-long program has provided college students with the chance to gain practical experience in the fintech sector, particularly in the Greater Bay Area.

Nintendo Switch users in China face uncertainty as Tencent plans to discontinue online services for the console. The sales of online games for the Chinese Nintendo Switch will be stopped on March 31, 2026, followed by the termination of other associated services a few weeks later, on May 15.

The eShop run by Tencent for the Chinese version of the Nintendo Switch will cease sales and distribution of both paid and complimentary video games and software on March 31, 2026, as announced in a declaration posted on the console's official website on Tuesday. Following this, specific downloads, code redemptions, and various online services will be discontinued on May 15, a few weeks after the initial closure.

As a way to make amends with impacted users, Tencent announced that it would provide four Nintendo games at no cost, from a selection that features Super Mario Odyssey and Pokemon: Let's Go! Pikachu.

Neither Tencent, the company that operates the biggest video game business globally in terms of revenue, nor the Kyoto-based company, Nintendo, provided an explanation for discontinuing local online support for Switch consoles in China.

The Nintendo Switch from China will remain on sale in the nation even after online sales and services are discontinued. This is possible as consumers can purchase games on physical cards, which can be inserted into the console, as stated in the official announcement.

A send-off in Macau for Lui Che-woo, the magnate behind Galaxy Entertainment

Government personnel from Macau like Elsie Ao Ieong and Jose Maria da Fonseca Tavares were present to pay tribute to Lui's life

Government personnel from Macau like Elsie Ao Ieong and Jose Maria da Fonseca Tavares were present to pay tribute to Lui's life

Numerous entrepreneurs, political figures, and close acquaintances gathered in Macau for a commemoration ceremony to bid farewell to the deceased Lui Che-woo. The Hong Kong real estate and gambling tycoon passed away on November 7, at 95 years of age.

Elsie Ao Ieong, the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture in Macau, along with José Maria da Fonseca Tavares, the head of the city's Municipal Affairs Bureau, were among the attendees who came together to pay tribute to Lui's life and accomplishments.

Galaxy Entertainment Group announced that the tribute at the Galaxy International Convention Centre will be accessible for public viewing until December 3, between 3 pm and 6 pm local time.

The family is set to conduct a funeral service at the Hong Kong Funeral Parlour on December 4, at 3pm local time, as per a prior announcement made on Monday. Following this, a public memorial service will be held on December 5, after which the deceased's body will be moved to the Hong Kong Buddhist Cemetery for interment.

Starting from a modest background as a peanut and snack vendor, Lui elevated himself to become one of the wealthiest magnates in Asia. He owns an extensive range of assets including hotels, casino resorts, and real estate in Hong Kong and Macau. Lui established the K. Wah group, a development company, in 1995 and successfully secured a casino license in Macau in 2002 through Galaxy.

Profits for major Chinese companies took a hit in October due to the real estate downturn affecting other sectors. Firms associated with real estate and retail experienced the most significant impact.

Last month, there was a 10% year-on-year decrease in their collective earnings, according to a Wednesday announcement from Beijing's National Bureau of Statistics. The overall profits from January to October experienced a 4.3% slump compared to the same duration last year, amounting to 5.87 trillion yuan (US$810.9 billion). This downturn surpassed the 3.5% decline observed in the initial nine months.

Steel companies reported a deficit of 23.3 billion yuan in the initial ten months, whereas businesses in the "petroleum, coal and other fuels" industry saw a decrease of 37.7 billion yuan in earnings. Meanwhile, the non-metallic mineral industry experienced a sharp fall in profits, dropping 49.6% within the same timeframe.

Government-run manufacturing companies have announced an 8.2 per cent decline, amounting to 1.85 trillion yuan, in profits. On the other hand, large businesses from overseas, including those from Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan, reported a cumulative profit of 1.46 trillion yuan over the first 10 months, marking a 0.9 per cent increase compared to the same timeframe in 2023.

Private homegrown businesses collectively recorded a profit of 1.65 trillion yuan, marking a decrease of 1.3 per cent.

US legislators are expressing concerns that Hong Kong is turning into a center for financial misconduct. They have penned a letter to the US Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen, urging her to reconsider the relationship with Hong Kong's banking industry.

Members of the U.S. House of Representatives have urged Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to reconsider relationships with the banking industry in Hong Kong. They claim that the region has now turned into a major hub for money laundering and circumventing sanctions.

Hong Kong has become a center for numerous breaches of US trade regulations, such as exporting regulated Western technology to Russia and establishing shell corporations to purchase Iranian oil, stated the bipartisan heads of the House of Representatives Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party in a correspondence to Yellen.

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US Treasury head Janet Yellen departs from China following 'challenging discussions' and complaints about overproduction.

"It is now necessary to scrutinize if the enduring US strategy towards Hong Kong, especially relating to its fiscal and banking industry, remains suitable," stated a version of the letter viewed by Reuters.

The US Department of Treasury didn't promptly reply to inquiries for commentary from Reuters. Similarly, the New York-based Hong Kong trade office was not immediately available to provide a response.

The prolonged surge in China's dairy industry turns bitter as the population gets older and sales decrease. S&P reports a drop in sales between 9 and 13 per cent for leading dairy companies such as China Mengniu and Inner Mongolia Yili in the first half of the year.

The sharp decline in income in China's dairy industry indicates that the prolonged period of prosperity may be coming to a close, according to the report. This slowing growth might encourage businesses to venture into new product areas or explore international markets, as suggested by analysts such as Flora Chang.

The report further mentioned that the slump is probably short-lived and China's milk market is projected to expand, though at a reduced rate.

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'No surprise here': Public responds to China raising its retirement age

S&P stated that due to a decreasing population and slowing economic progress, there will probably be a 2 to 3 per cent increase in total sales every year for the upcoming twenty years. This is half of what it was in the last twenty years.

Agile Chairman Chen Zhuolin experiences a US$16 million loss in rapid sale of nine apartments

Chen Zhuolin offloaded nine apartments in Hamburg Villa, worth HK$213 million (US$27.3 million), for roughly HK$90 million.

A 62-year-old business magnate recently sold several properties in Hamburg Villa, located on Eastbourne Road in Kowloon Tong. These properties were estimated to be worth around HK$213 million or US$27.3 million, as per a representative from Centaline Property. The apartments were sold off at markdowns ranging from 53% to 63%.

Chen managed to regain approximately HK$90 million, which represents a collective reduction of 58 per cent, as stated by representatives and records from the Land Registry.

An 872 square foot, three-bedroom property was sold for HK$8 million on November 1, as per official documentation. When compared to its 2018 purchase price of HK$21.4 million, the apartment was sold at a discount of 63 percent.

Chairman of Agile, Chen Zhuolin, experiences a loss of US$16 million in sudden mass sale of Hong Kong real estate

Chen Zhuolin parted with nine apartments in Hamburg Villa, previously estimated to be worth HK$213 million (US$27.3 million), at approximately HK$90 million.

A 62-year-old business magnate recently sold his properties in Hamburg Villa, located on Eastbourne Road in Kowloon Tong. The properties, which were estimated to be worth HK$213 million (US$27.3 million), were sold at a reduced price earlier this month, as informed by a representative from Centaline Property. The price cuts ranged from 53% to 63%.

Chen managed to regain only around HK$90 million, which equates to a total reduction of 58 per cent, as per sources and property registry documentation.

An 872 square foot three-bedroom property was sold for HK$8 million on the first of November, as per government documents. Considering its original purchase price of HK$21.4 million back in 2018, the apartment was traded at a 63 per cent markdown.