Private Credit Fuels a ‘Buy Now, Pay Later' Lending Boom in Asia
The computer cost 37,999 Philippine pesos ($664), almost as much as Regalado earns in a month. Still, Billease approved her application within minutes. She agreed to make 12 monthly payments of 4,493 pesos each, including principal and interest. The effective annual rate: 42%. 'At first I was hesitant, but I didn't have much choice,' says Regalado, who lives in southern Manila and had four installments left as of mid-July. 'I really needed that laptop.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
23 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Germany's SAP to invest 150 million euros in Vietnam R&D centre
HANOI (Reuters) -German software maker SAP will invest 150 million euros ($175.13 million) in a research and development centre in Vietnam over the next five years, the firm said on Thursday. SAP Labs Vietnam will be located in the business hub Ho Chi Minh City and will have 500 employees by 2027, it said in a statement. ($1 = 0.8565 euros) Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
23 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Airbnb dips as slower growth outlook renews fears of travel demand slowdown
(Reuters) -Shares of Airbnb slumped 6% before the bell on Thursday after the company forecast slower growth in the second half of the year, disappointing investors of the sector expecting a rebound in travel demand after strong outlooks from major travel firms. The vacation home rental's gloomy outlook came as setback to the industry, which saw a rebound in consumer sentiment in July, and was expecting budget-conscious Americans to return to vacations despite tariffs and inflation. United Airlines and Hilton Worldwide last month forecast an uptick in bookings and strong fourth-quarter revenue growth. Last week, online travel agency Booking Holdings also posted upbeat quarterly results. "The company (Airbnb) sees tariffs having an impact on margins in the third quarter, with the initial tariffs shock in April leading to a big drop in bookings," said Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell. Investors will now focus on results from Expedia Group, due after the bell, to better gauge the health of the travel industry in the United States. Airbnb attributed its weak growth outlook to tough comparisons with the year-ago period, when strong bookings in Asia and Latin America had helped earnings. The company expects night bookings growth to moderate year-over-year going into the fourth quarter. It expects the implied take rate, or the ratio of revenue to gross bookings, to remain flat in the third quarter. So far this year, Airbnb and Expedia shares have both fallen 0.6% each compared with an 11.4% rise in Booking Holdings during the same period. Airbnb commands a higher forward price-to-earnings multiple of 28.41, compared with Booking that's trading at a more modest 22.69 and Expedia at 11.57.
Yahoo
23 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Sony Raises Annual Profit Outlook As Trump's Tariffs Pose Less Risk
PlayStation parent Sony Group (NYSE: SONY) stock gained on Thursday after it reported its fiscal first-quarter 2025 results. The company reported a quarterly consolidated sales growth of 2% year-on-year to $18.13 billion (2.62 trillion Japanese yen). EPS of 30 cents (42.84 yen) beat the analyst consensus estimate of 23 & Network Services (G&NS) revenue increased 8% to 936.5 billion yen, and operating income rose 127% to 148.0 billion yen. Music revenue rose 5% to 465.3 billion yen, and operating income increased by 8% to 92.8 billion yen. Pictures revenue decreased by 3% to 327.1 billion yen. Operating income improved by 65% to 18.7 billion yen. Entertainment, Technology & Services (ET&S) revenue declined by 11% to 534.3 billion yen, and operating income decreased 33% to 43.1 billion yen. View more earnings on SONY Imaging & Sensing Solutions revenue (I&SS) rose 15% to 408.2 billion yen, and operating income increased 48% to 54.3 billion yen. Consolidated operating income rose 36% to 340 billion yen. The net income grew 23% to 259 billion yen. Sony sold 2.5 million PS5 units in the quarter, compared to 2.4 million a year ago and 2.8 million in the preceding quarter. It held 1.6 trillion yen in cash and equivalents as of the end of June. Outlook Sony reiterated fiscal 2025 sales of $81.8 billion or 11.7 trillion yen, versus the 12.2 trillion yen analyst consensus estimate. It expects an operating income of 1.33 trillion yen (prior 1.28 trillion yen) after tariff impact, citing expectations of a minor impact from U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war. The company expects EPS of $6.78 (prior $6.50). It expects higher game business profits, driven by network services sales and favorable exchange rates. The stock is up 18% year-to-date, reflecting its transformation as an entertainment giant spanning games, movies, and music as well as a leading maker of image sensors for smartphones. Sony is also preparing to reduce its stake in its financial unit to below 20% by partially spinning off the business, which will list in Tokyo on September 29. Price Action: SONY stock is trading higher by 4.45% to $26.03 premarket at last check Thursday. Photo by RYO Alexandre via Shutterstock Up Next: Transform your trading with Benzinga Edge's one-of-a-kind market trade ideas and tools. Click now to access unique insights that can set you ahead in today's competitive market. Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? This article Sony Raises Annual Profit Outlook As Trump's Tariffs Pose Less Risk originally appeared on © 2025 Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. Sign in to access your portfolio
