Rayonier Advanced Materials: Q2 Earnings Snapshot
On a per-share basis, the Jacksonville, Florida-based company said it had a loss of $5.44. Losses, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, came to 43 cents per share.
The maker of cellulose products posted revenue of $340 million in the period.
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39 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Modi's tax overhaul to strain finances but boost image amid US trade tensions
By Nikunj Ohri, Aftab Ahmed and Aditya Kalra NEW DELHI (Reuters) -Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's deepest tax cuts in eight years will strain government revenues but are winning praise from businesses and political pundits who say they will bolster his image in an ongoing trade fight with Washington. In the biggest tax overhaul since 2017, Modi's government on Saturday announced sweeping changes to the complex goods and services tax (GST) regime which will make daily essentials and electronics cheaper from October, helping consumers and also companies like Nestle, Samsung and LG Electronics. At the same time, in his Independence Day speech on Friday, Modi urged Indians to use more goods made domestically, echoing calls from many of his supporters to boycott U.S. products after Donald Trump hiked tariffs on imports from India to 50% as of August 27. The tax cut plan comes with costs given GST is a major revenue generator. IDFC First Bank says the cuts will boost India's GDP by 0.6 percentage points over 12 months but will cost the state and federal government $20 billion annually. But it will improve weak stock market sentiment and bring political dividends for Modi ahead of a critical state election in the eastern state of Bihar, said Rasheed Kidwai, a fellow at New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation. "GST reduction will impact everyone, unlike cuts to income tax, which is paid by only 3%-4% of the population. Modi is doing this as he is under a lot of pressure due to U.S. policies," said Kidwai. "The move will also help the stock market, which is now politically important as it has a lot of retail investors." India launched the major tax system in 2017 that subsumed local state taxes into the new, nationwide GST to unify its economy for the first time. But the biggest tax reform since India's independence faced criticism for its complex design that taxes products and services under four slabs - 5%, 12%, 18% and 28%. Last year, India said caramel popcorn would be taxed at 18% but the salted category at 5%, triggering criticism about a glaring example of GST's complexities. Under the new system, India will abolish the 28% slab - which includes cars and electronics - and move nearly all of the items under the 12% category to the lower 5% slab, benefitting many more consumer items and packaged foods. Government data shows the 28% and 12% tax slabs together garner 16% of India's annual GST revenue of roughly $250 billion last fiscal year. 'A BRIGHTER GIFT' AND POLITICS Bihar is a key state politically and goes to the polls by November. A recent survey by the VoteVibe agency showed Modi's opposition has an edge largely because of a lack of jobs. "Any tax cut has wide public appreciation. But of course, the timing is purely determined by political exigencies," said Dilip Cherian, a communications consultant and co-founder of Indian public relations firm Perfect Relations. "It seems to be an indication of some mixture of frustration as well as recognition that there is a broad public pushback against high and crippling rates of taxation." Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has seized on his tax announcement, posting on X that on the Hindu festival of lights, Diwali, "a brighter gift of simpler taxes and more savings is waiting for every Indian." Modi has vowed to protect farmers, fishermen and cattlemen, following Trump's surprise tariff announcement on India, after trade talks between New Delhi and Washington collapsed over disagreement on opening India's vast farm and dairy sectors and stopping Russian oil purchases. The latest round of trade talks between the two nations set for August 25-29 has also been called off. ($1 = 87.5080 Indian rupees) Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Travel Weekly
an hour ago
- Travel Weekly
Air Canada flight attendants defy back-to-work order
TORONTO (AP) -- Air Canada said it suspended plans to restart operations on Sunday after the union representing 10,000 flight attendants said it will defy a return-to-work order. The strike was already affecting about 130,000 travelers per day during the peak summer travel season. Air Canada operates around 700 flights per day. The Canada Industrial Relations Board ordered airline staff back to work by 2 p.m. Sunday after the government intervened and Air Canada said it planned to resume flights Sunday evening. Canada's largest airline now says it will resume flights Monday evening. Air Canada said in a statement that the union "illegally directed its flight attendant members to defy a direction from the Canadian Industrial Relations Board." "Our members are not going back to work," Canadian Union of Public Employees national president Mark Hancock said outside Toronto's Pearson International Airport. "We are saying no." Hancock ripped up a copy of the back-to-work order outside the airport's departures terminal, where union members were picketing Sunday morning. He said they won't return Tuesday either. Flight attendants chanted "Don't blame me, blame AC" outside the airport. "Like many Canadians, the minister is monitoring this situation closely. The Canada Industrial Relations Board is an independent tribunal," Jennifer Kozelj, a spokeswoman for federal jobs minister Patty Hajdu said in a statement. Hancock said the "whole process has been unfair" and said the union will challenge what it called an unconstitutional order. Less than 12 hours after workers walked off the job, Hajdu ordered the 10,000 flight attendants back to work, saying now is not the time to take risks with the economy and noting the unprecedented tariffs the U.S. has imposed on Canada. Hajdu referred the work stoppage to the Canada Industrial Relations Board. The airline said the CIRB has extended the term of the existing collective agreement until a new one is determined by the arbitrator. Tourist Mel Durston from southern England was trying to make the most of sightseeing in Canada. But she said she doesn't have a way to continue her journey. "We wanted to go see the Rockies, but we might not get there because of this," Durston said. "We might have to head straight back." James Hart and Zahara Virani were visiting Toronto from Calgary for what they thought would be a fun weekend. But they ended up paying $1,880 to fly with another airline on a later day after their Air Canada flight got canceled. "It's a little frustrating and stressful, but at the same time, I don't blame the flight attendants at all," Virani said. "What they're asking for is not unreasonable whatsoever." Flight attendants walked off the job around 1 a.m. Eastern time on Saturday. Around the same time, Air Canada said it would begin locking flight attendants out of airports. The bitter contract fight escalated Friday as the union turned down Air Canada's prior request to enter into government-directed arbitration, which allows a third-party mediator to decide the terms of a new contract. Last year, the government forced the country's two major railroads into arbitration with their labor union during a work stoppage. The union for the rail workers is suing, arguing the government is removing a union's leverage in negotiations. Hajdu maintained that her Liberal government is not anti-union, saying it is clear the two sides are at an impasse. Passengers whose flights are impacted will be eligible to request a full refund on the airline's website or mobile app, according to Air Canada. The airline said it would also offer alternative travel options through other Canadian and foreign airlines when possible. Still, it warned that it could not guarantee immediate rebooking because flights on other airlines are already full "due to the summer travel peak." Air Canada and its flight attendants have been in contract talks for about eight months, but they have yet to reach a tentative deal. Both sides have said they remain far apart on the issue of pay and the unpaid work flight attendants do when planes aren't in the air.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Trump gave China the AI chips it wanted. Beijing isn't saying thank you
In a surprising reversal of the United States' years-long technology restrictions on China, President Donald Trump last month allowed Nvidia to resume sales of a key AI chip designed specifically for the Chinese market. Yet rather than celebrating, Beijing's response has been noticeably lukewarm, despite having long urged Washington to ease the stringent export controls. In the weeks since the policy U-turn, Beijing has called the chip a security risk, summoned Nvidia for explanations and discouraged its companies from using it. The less-than-welcoming sentiment reflects Beijing's drive to build a self-sufficient semiconductor supply chain – and its confidence in the progress its rapidly advancing chip industry has made. But the cold shoulder may also represent some political posturing. Despite significant advances in its semiconductor sector, China still needs America's chips and technology. Experts said China's national champion Huawei has developed chips with performance comparable to — and in some cases surpassing — the newly approved Nvidia chip. However, China still wants the more advanced AI processors that remain blocked under US export controls. In the years since Trump first imposed tech restrictions on Huawei during his first term, China's chip technology has made significant strides, spurred by the frustration that mounted as Washington piled on export controls, said Xiang Ligang, director-general of a Beijing-based technology industry group and an advisor to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. 'We have this capability, it's not as they imagine – that if China is blocked, China won't be able to function, or that China will be finished,' he said. To him, the policy about-face only reflects the importance of having a wholly homegrown chip supply chain. 'For Chinese companies, we may only have one choice if we wish to ensure a relatively secure supply of chips – that means relying on our own domestically produced chips,' Xiang said. That may be China's goal, but in the high-stakes AI race, with all its national security implications, the US remains the leader, at least for now. China is not 'naive' The chip in focus is Nvidia's H20, which was released by the AI chip leader last year to maintain access to the Chinese market following strict export controls put in place under the Biden administration that stopped the export of chips with high processing power. Last month, Trump greenlit the sales of the chip to China after banning it in April as the US trade frictions with China deepened. Trump has justified his decision by calling the chip 'obsolete,' as it lags behind the company's cutting-edge AI processors like Blackwell or H100, from which H20 is derived. He and his officials appeared to have embraced a view long promoted by Nvidia's CEO Jensen Huang – that US can maintain its tech leadership only through ensuring its chips remain the global standard. 'You want to sell the Chinese enough that their developers get addicted to the American technology stack,' Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said last month. But the dramatic reversal has fueled questions about Trump's transactional approach to national security – once considered off-limits to bargaining. China, on the other hand, is alarmed by the alleged security risks of Nvidia's H20s like 'tracking and positioning' and 'remote shutdown' features, capabilities that some US lawmakers have called for but Nvidia denies it has placed in its chips. China's cyberspace watchdog and industry ministry have since summoned the American chip giant over the security concerns and urged firms to avoid H20 chips, a development which was previously reported by Bloomberg. One major Chinese tech company which has developed its AI models has received notice from the authorities urging it to exercise caution in the use of H20s, and advising it not to purchase them, a company insider said on the condition of anonymity. CNN has reached out to the ministry and the cyberspace authorities for comment. An Nvidia spokesperson told CNN that NVIDIA 'does not have 'backdoors' in our chips that would give anyone a remote way to access or control them.' 'Banning the sale of H20 in China would only harm US economic and technology leadership with zero national security benefit,' the spokesperson added. But China believes the US isn't playing fairly, Xiang said. 'What we actually want, you refuse to sell us. For the things you already consider obsolete, you still want to dump them into our market and occupy our market. Do you really think we're that naive?' he said. Still coveted Despite Beijing's concerns and the H20's reduced performance, the chips remain highly sought after by Chinese companies. Equity research firm Bernstein estimated that shipment of the chips to China this year would have reached 1.5 million units, or about 23 billion in revenue, without Trump's export restrictions. Major buyers include Chinese tech giants such as TikTok owner ByteDance, Alibaba and Tencent. While Huawei's top AI chips excel in computing power – one of the key measures in evaluating processors' performance – in comparison with H20, they fall short in terms of memory bandwidth, which determines how much data can move between a chip's memory and computing unit. That bandwidth depends on a technology known as High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) used in AI chips to ensure efficient data transmission in AI model training. China's top HBM maker CXMT, or ChangXin Memory Technologies, is still about three to four years behind industry leaders like South Korea's SK Hynix and Samsung, and American Micron, according to MS Hwang, research director at Counterpoint Research, a research firm. Last year, the Biden administration further tightened export controls on China, including restrictions on HBM sales, forcing Chinese companies to rely on existing stockpiles. Beijing has requested Washington to lift restrictions on HBM as part of the trade deal negotiations, Financial Times reported this week. Key appeal of H20 for Chinese companies also lies in Huawei's limited production capacity and Nvidia's well-established ecosystem, said Qingyuan Lin, senior analyst at Bernstein focusing China's semiconductor industry. 'Even when you want to completely replace the H20 demand with the local guys, they're not able to deliver the amount of chips that's needed,' he said. The supply bottlenecks stem from constraints in scaling up production of both the manufacturing of computing units of the AI chips and the integration of various components in them, a technology known as advanced packaging in the industry, Lin said. Bernstein estimated that Huawei's shipments of its advanced AI chips in 2025 would amount to around 700,000 units, still far short of the demand in the country. CNN has reached out to Huawei for comment. Meanwhile, Nvidia's powerful ecosystem, which integrates its chips with its software platform, has created what experts call a 'moat,' making it difficult and costly for AI developers who train models on its software to switch to alternatives. 'The H20 comes with a complete ecosystem covering both hardware and software support, ensuring better compatibility and ease of integration,' said Brady Wang, associate director at Counterpoint. 'This ecosystem maturity is still a challenge for many Chinese-developed chips, making the H20 more attractive despite its cost disadvantage.' 'Very close' Still, experts said China's rapid progress in semiconductor technology should not be underestimated. Years of tightening export controls have injected both urgency and opportunity into Beijing's push for self-sufficiency, Lin said. While chipmaking technology appeared to stall after Huawei's 2023 flagship smartphone showcased advanced chips that American officials had deemed extremely difficult to produce, domestic chipmaking equipment companies have been steadily gaining ground, he said. 'The local guys actually had very little chance to gain share from the global players because of the technology gap, but export controls created a market that didn't exist before and accelerated the domestic substitution,' he said. Bernstein projects that the percentage of homemade AI chips in China will surge from 17% in 2023 to 55% by 2027, while American suppliers like Nvidia and AMD will shrink to 45% from 83%. In April, Huang of Nvidia met with Trump in Washington, urging the administration to loosen export controls on chips and saying that the diffusion of American AI technology around the world needs to be accelerated. 'There's no question that Huawei is one of the most formidable technology companies in the world…they made enormous progress in the last several years,' he said. 'China is right behind us. We're very, very close.' CNN's Hassan Tayir and Fred He contributed reporting. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
