Day: July 31, 2024

PARIS : “Yamaguchi and Kim Advance in Badminton Group Stage”, Two-time world champion Akane Yamaguchi of Japan came close to being defeated in the final round of group play by world number 31 Michelle Li of Canada in a day of close shaves in the women’s singles at the Paris Games on Wednesday.

Yamaguchi, ranked fifth, won a game that ended 22-24 21-17 21-12 through sheer stamina as Li tired in the third game, losing four points towards the end in quick succession.

The 27-year-old Yamaguchi, who suffered a hip injury in March, said she had felt no pain on Wednesday but that her long lay-off meant she was not 100 per cent confident.

“I was quite behind until the second half of the second game,” she said.

World number 17 Kim Ga-eun of South Korea also looked to be in trouble against Malaysia’s Goh Jin Wei, who ranks 15 places below her, until she rallied at the very end of the third game.

Kim skidded across the floor of the court on her knees to reach some shots and pull of a 21-17 20-22 23-21 win.

In men’s singles, world number 22 Lakshya Sen of India produced some skilful returns to defeat Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie, who ranks fourth, 21-18 21-12.

“Really tough match today,” Sen said, adding that he was excited for the round of 16 now.

“Alpine F1 Appoints Oakes as Fifth Boss in Four Years”, Oliver Oakes was appointed principal of Renault-owned Alpine on Wednesday and will start after the August break as the under-performing Formula One team’s fifth boss in four years.

The 36-year-old Briton, a former racer and karting champion who founded Hitech Grand Prix competing in various junior series, will be the second youngest team boss in the championship’s modern era.

Red Bull’s Christian Horner, now the longest-serving principal, started with the current champions in January 2005 at the age of 31.

“It is a pleasure to welcome Oli to the team and for him to become one of the youngest team principals that this sport has ever seen,” said Renault Group Chief Executive Luca de Meo in a statement.

“This team is being built for future success and this is highlighted by Oli’s appointment in a senior role. We look forward to harnessing his enthusiasm, energy and passion for racing and realising that mindset across the entire team.”

The Frenchman took over from Otmar Szafnauer, who replaced Laurent Rossi at the helm in February 2022. Rossi was appointed in January 2021 after the departure of Cyril Abiteboul.

“DuPont Upgrades Forecasts on Electronics and AI Demand”, Industrial materials maker DuPont de Nemours raised full-year forecasts on Wednesday, benefiting from strong demand for electronics and artificial intelligence-based technology that helped it beat second-quarter results.

After widely destocking last year due to low demand, an uptick in the manufacturing sector is benefiting companies that make chemicals and other materials used in a variety of industries including automotive and electronics.

Production at factories in the United States rose 1.1 per cent in June from a year earlier, and climbed 3.4 per cent in the second quarter.

DuPont’s electronics and industrial unit, its biggest in terms of sales, saw a 7.1 per cent rise in net sales in the quarter, driven by strong demand for semiconductors and consumer technology products.

CEO Lori Koch, who took the role in May, said the company had made progress around separating its electronics and water businesses.

DuPont announced plans to split its electronics and water segments in May, and said it expected to complete the process within 18-24 months.

The company on Wednesday raised its 2024 adjusted earnings forecast to $3.70 to $3.80 per share, from its previous range of$3.45 to $3.75, and net sales estimate to $12.40 billion and $12.50 billion, from $12.10 billion to $12.40 billion previously.

The Wilmington, Delaware-based company reported an adjusted profit of 97 cents per share for the second quarter, above analysts’ average estimate of 85 cents, according to LSEG data.

YANGON: “Myanmar Junta Extends State of Emergency by 6 Months”, Myanmar’s junta on Wednesday (Jul 31) extended the state of emergency by six months, again delaying fresh polls it has promised to hold as it battles opposition to its coup.

The Southeast Asian nation has been in turmoil since the February 2021 coup which ended a 10-year experiment with democracy and sparked mass protests and a crackdown on dissent.

Three years and a half years later, the junta is struggling to crush widespread armed opposition and recently suffered a series of stunning losses to an alliance of ethnic minority armed groups.

The junta had been unable to hold fresh polls as planned following an initial two-year state of emergency “due to the terrorist acts” by its opponents, broadcaster MRTV reported.

All the members of the junta-stacked National Defence and Security Council “unanimously decided to extend the period of the state of emergency for another six months”, MRTV said.

Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing had proposed the extension “in order to prepare valid and accurate ballots” for the election the junta has promised to hold, possibly in 2025.

The extension was also needed to “carry out the population census and in order to continue the implementation of the work to be done”, MRTV said.

Under the military-drafted 2008 constitution, which the junta has said is still in force, authorities are required to hold fresh elections within six months of a state of emergency being lifted.

The military seized power after making unsubstantiated allegations of fraud in the 2020 elections which Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) won in a landslide.

It has extended the state of emergency multiple times since as it battles established ethnic minority armed groups and newer pro-democracy “People’s Defence Forces”.

BEIJING: “China’s Weak Factory PMI Reveals Struggles in Export Sector”, China’s manufacturing activity slipped to a five-month nadir in July as factories grappled with falling new orders and low prices, an official survey showed on Wednesday, pointing to a grinding second half for the world’s production powerhouse.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) purchasing managers’ index (PMI) contracted for a third month, easing to 49.4 from 49.5 in June, below the 50-mark separating growth from contraction, but just ahead of a median forecast of 49.3 in a Reuters poll.

Sentiment remains gloomy among manufacturers as domestic demand is increasingly under siege and external pressures from trade tensions loom large for China’s US$18.6 trillion economy, which grew more slowly than expected in the second quarter.

Producers reported factory gate prices were at their worst in 13 months, while employment stayed in negative territory, with its sub-index last expanding in February 2023 and pointing to a somnolent domestic economy and China’s increasing reliance on exports for momentum.

Furthermore, hopes that strong exports would spark a broader economic recovery were dashed by extreme weather conditions, as flooding and high temperatures hurt production lines over July, NBS senior statistician Zhao Qinghe said.

Policymakers, however, have been seemingly slow to recognise the magnitude of the economy’s mounting afflictions.

“The only silver lining is that the recent loss of momentum appears to have made officials more serious about turning up the gears of near-term policy support,” said Gary Ng, assistant economist at Capital Economics, adding that it “should underpin a recovery in activity in the coming months.”

Consumers have cut back spending on big-ticket items and shied away from premium-priced goods. Car sales, the biggest component of China’s retail sales, fell for the third month in June. Starbucks, which has thousands of stores across its second-largest market, reported a 14 per cent plunge in quarterly China sales as coffee drinkers gravitated to cheaper offerings.

Policymakers promised further stimulus to encourage low- and middle-income groups to spend more during a meeting of the top-decision making body of the ruling Communist Party on Tuesday, but stopped short of announcing specific steps.