Latest news with #fiscal2024
Japan Times
18 hours ago
- Health
- Japan Times
Japan to study ways to help more pregnant women in danger
The Children and Families Agency will examine ways to help more pregnant women under difficult conditions, such as abuse and poverty, benefit from its program to provide them with a safe childbirth environment. The program was launched in fiscal 2024 to prevent life-threatening situations for struggling women and their babies. As of January this year, 23 prefectural and municipal governments had taken part and offered temporary housing, meals, medical services and other necessary assistance through individual consultations. Assistance seekers include youngsters who ran away from home due to bad relations with their parents, or other guardians, and those fleeing their partners' violence, agency officials said. Still, some women who unexpectedly got pregnant have been taken to hospitals in critical conditions, had their children die shortly after delivery, or killed their newborn babies and themselves. In a move to further prevent childbirths with a high possibility of negative outcomes, the agency will conduct a survey from next month to around the end of the current fiscal year through March 2026. It will first learn the roles that infant homes and support facilities are actually playing in the program and then, upon their consent, hear directly from women who eventually became eligible for the public support. The survey results will provide the basis for subsequent discussions on how to improve the knowledge of relevant local government officials and medical professionals about the program so they can recommend appropriate assistance measures for expectant mothers in trouble. "I think we can help more pregnant women on the edge of a precipice if we learn their life experiences and explain the process of how some such women became able to receive assistance," an agency official in charge of the program said. The agency also aims to improve the program and bring more local governments on board.
CNA
01-06-2025
- Business
- CNA
BOJ sets aside maximum provisions for bond transactions, Nikkei reports
The Bank of Japan has set aside the maximum provision for losses on bond transactions, the Nikkei reported on Monday. For fiscal 2024, BOJ raised the level of provisions to 100 per cent for the first time, signaling that the central bank expects higher interest payments to financial institutions to impact its capital base, the newspaper reported. Japan's central bank kept short-term interest rates steady at 0.5 per cent in its May meeting, with pressures mounting to keep hiking borrowing costs.
Globe and Mail
26-05-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
2 Penny Stocks That Wall Street Thinks Can Gain 118% to 160% From Here
Penny stocks are shares of small companies that trade for less than $5 per share. The advantage of investing in penny stocks is that you can buy a large number of shares for a small sum of money, and if the underlying company succeeds, the return on investment can be significant. However, they can be very volatile and hence very risky. Investors who can stomach these risks may find these 'Strong Buy'-rated penny stocks appealing over the long run. Penny Stock #1: Lantronix With a market cap of $88.4 million, Lantronix (LTRX) is a technology company that makes devices that connect sensors, machines, and systems to the internet. These products are widely used in industrial automation, smart cities, healthcare, and transportation. It also offers software solutions that enable secure data access and management in the Internet of Things (IoT) and remote computing environments. While fiscal 2024 showed strong growth, recent quarters have been challenging. The stock is down 45.8% year to date, while the S&P 500 Index ($SPX) is up 0.5%. Nonetheless, Wall Street rates the stock as a 'Strong Buy' with upside potential of more than 115%. In fiscal 2024, Lantronix achieved significant milestones, with annual revenue rising 22% year-over-year to $160.3 million, with a 74% increase in adjusted earnings to $0.40 per share. However, the momentum from fiscal 2024 did not carry into fiscal 2025. In the most recent third quarter, total revenue fell 30.8% to $28.5 million, while adjusted earnings per share fell to $0.03 from $0.11 in the year-ago quarter. The company attributed the declines to macroeconomic challenges and restructuring efforts. Management stated that the company will continue to invest in high-growth areas like AI-enabled gateways and 5G connectivity. Lantronix is actively pursuing strategies to regain its growth trajectory. In the third quarter, it launched the Open-Q 8550CS System on Module (SoM), built on Qualcomm's (QCOM) QCS8550 processor, which targets next-generation industrial and robotics applications. The company has also hired new executives to spearhead strategic expansion. Furthermore, it has collaborated with Teledyne/FLIR to enable AI-driven drone thermal cameras, demonstrating the capabilities of its Open-Q platform in mission-critical edge vision systems. These initiatives are intended to position Lantronix favorably in the evolving IoT landscape. Analysts expect Lantronix revenue and earnings to fall for the full year fiscal 2025. However, revenue and earnings could increase by 3.2% and 38% in fiscal 2026. On Wall Street, of the five analysts that cover Lantronix stock, four rate it a 'Strong Buy,' while one recommends a 'Moderate Buy.' Needham analyst Ryan Koontz believes that while the recent quarter produced mixed results and a cautious outlook due to macroeconomic uncertainty, these challenges are temporary. He sees Lantronix's strategic shift to edge AI and compute applications as a key driver of future success. However, reflecting this balanced view, he reduced the price target to $4.50 while maintaining his 'Buy' rating. The mean target price for the stock is $4.90, which is 118% above current levels. The Street-high estimate of $8 implies upside of 257% over the next 12 months. Lantronix's fiscal 2024 performance demonstrated its potential in the IoT market. However, given the company's fiscal 2025 performance, investors should keep an eye on whether it can reestablish its growth trajectory in the highly competitive IoT market. Penny Stock #2: Ceragon Networks With a market cap of $206 million, Ceragon Networks (CRNT) is a global provider of wireless backhaul solutions. It specializes in high-capacity, cost-effective wireless transport for mobile operators and private networks. Ceragon stock is down 50% year-to-date, compared to the broader market index. In 2024, Ceragon reported revenues of $394.2 million, up 13.5% year on year. The company reported its highest revenue since 2012, thanks to strong demand in India and an increase in private network deployments. In the first quarter of 2025, Ceragon reported revenues of $88.7 million, a slight increase of 0.2% year-over-year. However, adjusted earnings per share fell to $0.03, compared to $0.05 in the year-ago quarter. Ceragon has introduced several innovative products to bolster its market position, including millimeter-wave solutions like the IP-50EX and IP-50CX. In February, Ceragon completed the acquisition of End 2 End (E2E) Technologies, a U.S.-based systems integration and software firm specializing in private networks for the energy and utilities sectors. The acquisition is expected to contribute $15 million to $19 million in revenues for 2025 and be accretive to non-GAAP earnings in the second half of the year. Ceragon has set a revenue guidance range of $390 million to $430 million for 2025, including contributions from the E2E acquisition. Analysts predict revenue growth to be roughly 7.9% in 2026, followed by earnings growth of 44.6%. On Wall Street, of the five analysts that cover Ceragon stock, four rate it a 'Strong Buy' while one recommends a 'Moderate Buy.' The mean target price for the stock is $6.10, which is 160% above current levels. The Street-high estimate of $10 implies upside of 327% over the next 12 months. With the ongoing expansion of 5G networks and rising demand for high-speed data transmission, Ceragon's long-term prospects are promising. However, as a penny stock, investors should closely monitor the company's strategic plans and ability to navigate the competitive telecommunications market.
Times of Oman
24-05-2025
- Business
- Times of Oman
RBI board approves record surplus transfer of Rs 2.69 lakh crore to Centre
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) central board has approved a record Rs 2.69 lakh crore surplus transfer to the central government for the fiscal year 2024-25. A decision in this regard was taken in the 616th Meeting of the Central Board of the Reserve Bank of India on Friday. This is the highest-ever surplus transfer by the RBI to the government for fiscal 2024-25 (FY25). The RBI in the financial year ending March 2024 transferred Rs 2.1 lakh crore to the centre. The RBI said in a statement, "The Board thereafter approved the transfer of Rs 2,68,590.07 crore as surplus to the Central Government for the accounting year 2024-25." During accounting years 2018-19 to 2021-22, owing to the prevailing macroeconomic conditions and the onslaught of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Central Board had decided to maintain the CRB at 5.50 per cent of the Reserve Bank's Balance Sheet size to support growth and overall economic activity. The CRB was increased to 6.00 per cent for FY 2022-23 and to 6.50 per cent for FY 2023-24. "Based on the revised ECF and taking into consideration the macroeconomic assessment, the Central Board decided to further increase the CRB to 7.50 per cent," the RBI statement added. In its statement, the RBI added that the Central Board at the 616th Meeting reviewed the global and domestic economic scenario, including risks to the outlook. The Board also discussed the working of the Reserve Bank during the year April 2024 - March 2025 and approved the Reserve Bank's Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year 2024-25. Commenting on the announcement, Gaura Sengupta, Chief Economist at IDFC FIRST Bank, said, "The RBI dividend was in line with our expectations at Rs 2.7 tn vs. last year's dividend of Rs 2.1 tn (IDFC First Bank estimate of INR 2.6 tn to Rs 3tn)." "In the FY26 Union Budget, dividends from RBI and PSUs are budgeted at INR 2.6 tn, which implies an RBI dividend of ~INR 2.3 tn. While details have not yet been released, income has likely been supported by earnings on foreign exchange transactions," Sengupta said.
The Sun
19-05-2025
- Automotive
- The Sun
Major car brand's new boss admits problems started ‘years ago' as firm plans to slash nearly half its factories
THE new CEO of a major car manufacturer has admitted the struggling brand's problems began "years ago." Under the previous CEO the brand struggled to keep afloat and the new boss has responded by cutting jobs worldwide. 3 3 Nissan's new CEO, Ivan Espinosa, has now admitted the problems began years ago as he aims to make a u-turn and put the company into recovery. In a shock revelation Espinosa admitted that the company's troubles started a decade ago. The initial wrong step, according to the CEO, was Nissan's optimistic goal of selling 8 million vehicles a year. According to some data however the company is a far cry from reaching that 10-year-old goal with only 3.3 million sold in Japan's fiscal year 2024. Espinosa said: "'Let me start by explaining why we are here. This is not something that happened in the last couple of years. "It's more of a fundamental problem that probably started back in 2015, when management thought this company could reach [annual global vehicle sales] of around eight million. "There were heavy investments both in terms of planned capacity as well as in human resources, but the reality today is we are running at around half that volume. And nobody did anything to fix that until now.' Espinosa said the overoptimistic goal resulted in the company ramping up production and expanding its workforce to meet an overly ambitious target. The brand's new CEO said this was the cause of their problems which have led to 20,000 jobs being cut and billions of pounds in losses. Espinosa is confident that Nissan can bounce back from the recent struggles however. He aims to strengthen ties with fellow auto manufacturers Renault, Mitsubishi and Chinese ally Dongfeng. Espinosa is not opposed to letting Dongfeng build cars at Nissan's UK factory in Sunderland. The Sunderland site does not currently face closure but seven others are staring down the prospect. Nissan also aims to cut costs under its new CEO with factory closures and job losses. 3 Despite the turmoil Nissan is slated to bring more than ten new models to North American roads soon. In Europe the next generation of Nissan Micra is planned to be introduced. And in Japan a new generation kei car is due to come to the roads along with an all new Skyline. The troubles faced down by the Japanese car giant resulted in the development of several models being halted. Nissan reported that it would shut almost half of its factories by 2027. The reduction would bring down the car giants factory numbers from 17 to just 10. The struggling brand also cut its workforce by 20,000 with around 15% of its staff hit. Last week Japan's third largest car maker announced a net loss of 671 billion yen over the last financial year. Nissan's gloomy future Last year the company lost around 427 billion yen ($2.88bn) this means since March 2023 Nissan has had a net loss of almost 1.1 trillion yen ($4.11bn). The company hopes to make a dramatic u-turn and become profitable again by 2026. Massive cost saving cuts have been made in an attempt to reach this goal with factories closed and jobs slashed. Speaking last week Nissan president and CEO Ivan Espinosa said: "In the face of challenging FY24 performance and rising variable costs, compounded by an uncertain environment, we must prioritise self-improvement with greater urgency and speed, aiming for profitability that relies less on volume. "As new management, we are taking a prudent approach to reassess our targets and actively seek every possible opportunity to implement and ensure a robust recovery. "Re:Nissan is an action-based recovery plan that clearly outlines what we need to do now.
