World Street | US growth falters, Alphabet and Microsoft beat estimates, Honda powers up and more

World Street offers a sneak peek into the world of business and economy.

Tech giants Alphabet and Microsoft reported an earnings beat for the first quarter, with cloud services driving growth. The deaccelerating of US GDP has again triggered rate-cut fears, even as the Bank of Japan will be closely watched for cues on monetary policy tightening — all this and more in the April 26 edition of the World Street.

Alphabet Tops Estimates

Shares of Google parent Alphabet surged 13 percent in after-hours trading after its quarterly earnings beat estimates. Alphabet's revenue jumped 16 percent on-year to $67.59 billion for the three months ended March 31. The technology giant also announced a dividend of 20 cents a share. "Our results in the first quarter reflect strong performance from Search, YouTube and Cloud," CEO Sundar Pichai said.

US GDP falters

US GDP for the first quarter sank under estimates, coming in at 1.6 percent, missing the 2.5 percent mark that analysts pegged it at. The GDP is down from the reading of 3.4 percent for the December quarter. Inflation remained sticky as well, with the "super core" inflation coming in at 3.7 percent.

Experts say the slowing GDP and hotter-than-expected inflation will force the US Federal Reserve to revise its rate-cut timeline.

Microsoft's Earnings Beat

Microsoft's top and bottom lines jumped ahead of estimates, as the tech behemoth's cloud computing arm bolstered the earnings for the March quarter. Microsoft recorded a 17 percent sequential revenue growth at $61.86 billion.

The revenue from Azure and Microsoft's other cloud services grew 31 percent. More customers are subscribing to Azure's cloud services, which includes products from OpenAI.

Honda Charging Ahead

Honda Motor and a JV partner will set up a “comprehensive EV value chain" in Ontario, Canada for a total consideration of $11 billion. The new centre will have assembly and battery plant, along with other equipment and facilities to create and produce electric vehicles. Production is likely to kick off in 2028, with a projected capacity of around 280,000 cars once fully operational.

Bank of Japan Eyed

The Bank of Japan will be closely eyed ahead of its inflation projection. Some expect that the BoJ will signal its readiness to raise interest rates from near-zero in hopes of boosting the Yen from its current 34-year low levels. While no policy changes are projected, BoJ governor Kazuo Ueda comments will be watched for any cues to the future.

Chip on Beijing's Shoulder

Authorities in Beijing have announced subsidies for companies that buy AI chips that have been produced in China, as the country plans to develop its own semiconductor industry in an attempt to cut reliance on foreign technology. Beijing plans on complete self-reliance in smart computing infrastructure by 2027.

(with agency inputs)