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Tariff-era iPhone may come with added cost

1 month 2 weeks ago
Apple on Tuesday will unveil its next line-up of iPhones amid a global trade war that's added a potential price increase to the usual intrigue surrounding the annual evolution of the company's marquee product. The new iPhones will be the first to be released since President Donald Trump returned to the White House and unleashed a barrage of tariffs, in what his administration says is an attempt to bring overseas manufacturing back to the U.S. - a crusade that has thrust Apple CEO Tim Cook into the hot seat. If Apple follows the same naming scheme since the product's 2007 debut, the new models will be called the iPhone 17. But the Cupertino, California, company recently deviated from tradition with its naming formula for the iPhone operating system. When the next version of its iOS system was previewed at its developers conference in June, Apple revealed the free update will be called iOS 26 in reference to the upcoming year - a marketing technique that automakers have embraced for decades. Regardless, these new iPhones are still expected to be made in Apple's manufacturing hubs in China and India, much to the Trump administration's consternation. Both Trump and U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick have repeatedly insisted that iPhones be made in the U.S. instead of overseas. It's an unrealistic demand that analysts say would take years to pull off and would result in a doubling, or even a tripling, of the iPhone's current average price of about $1,000. Cook tried to placate Trump by initially pledging that Apple would invest $500 billion i n the U.S. over the next four years, and then upped the ante last month by adding another $100 billion to the commitment. He also gifted Trump a statue featuring a 24-karat gold base. That kind of diplomacy has helped insulate Apple from Trump's most severe tariffs. However, the iPhones being brought into the U.S. still face duties of about 25%, stoking speculation that the company will reveal its first across-the-board price increase in five years in an effort to preserve its hefty profit margins. Since 2020, Apple has charged $800 for its basic iPhone and $1,200 for its top offering, but analysts now believe the company may raise prices by $50 to $100 on some of the new models. If Apple does announce price increases, it will come just weeks after Google held steady on prices for its new Pixel smartphones. Whatever Apple ends up charging for the next iPhone, the new line-up isn't expected to be much different from last year's model - the first to be designed for a wide range of new artificial intelligence features. While the iPhone 16 has proven to be popular, the models didn't sell quite as well as analysts had anticipated because Apple failed to deliver all the AI-fueled improvements it had promised, including a smarter and more versatile Siri assistant. The Siri improvements have been pushed back until next year. That has lowered the expectations for this year's line-up, which will likely include the usual improvements in camera quality and battery life on top of a slightly redesigned appearance. The most significant new twist could be the introduction of an ultra-thin iPhone dubbed "Air" - a moniker Apple already slaps on like its sleekest iPads and Mac computers. The relatively minor updates to recent iPhone models are raising questions about Apple's ability to innovate in the fast-moving era of AI, said Forrester Research analyst Thomas Husson. "Apple is reaching a tipping point, and I expect 2026 and 2027 to be pivotal years." Apple's AI follies, combined with its exposure in Trump's trade war, have weighed on the company's stock, while the market values of Big Tech peers like Microsoft, Nvidia, Meta Platforms and Google parent Alphabet have been surging. Although Apple's stock price is still down by 4% so far this year, the shares have been bouncing back in recent months amid signs it won't be as hard hit by the tariffs as once feared, and a highly anticipated court ruling cleared the way for the company to continue receiving $20 billion annually to lock in Google's search engine as the default option on iPhones.

A 5.2 magnitude earthquake rattles Greece

1 month 2 weeks ago
A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck off the Greek island of Euboea early Tuesday and was strongly felt in Athens, authorities said.The quake hit at 00:30 local time (2130 GMT) offshore 45 kilometres (28 miles) northeast of the Greek capital, said the Institute of Geodynamics at the National Observatory of Athens.The epicentre was four kilometres off the seaside resort of Nea Styra in the southwest of Euboea, Greece's second-biggest island, the institute said.There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.The mayor of the nearby city of Marathon, Stergios Tsirkas, described the quake as "very intense", in comments on ERT television.In May, a strong earthquake of magnitude 6.1 struck off the Greek island of Crete and was felt as far as Egypt as well as in the Greek capital.In January and February, the island of Santorini in the Aegean Sea, a major Greek tourist destination, suffered exceptional seismic activity.Thousands of tremors there caused several thousand residents to flee, but they have since returned home.Situated on several faults in the southeastern Mediterranean, Greece is regularly hit by earthquakes.The last deadly quake there struck in October 2020 on the island of Samos, in the Aegean Sea.With a magnitude of seven, it killed two people in Samos and over 100 in the Turkish port city of Izmir.

Karbonsteel Engineering IPO opens for subscription today; GMP among key details to know before subscribing

1 month 2 weeks ago
Karbonsteel Engineering launched its Rs 59 crore IPO on Tuesday with the issue receiving early attention in the unlisted market. The shares are quoting a GMP of around 12% over the upper price band of Rs 159. The three-day book-building issue will close on September 11, and listing is scheduled for September 16 on the BSE SME platform. Ahead of the issue opening, the company raised Rs 17 crore from anchor investors, who subscribed to 10.6 lakh shares.IPO structure and price bandThe IPO comprises a fresh issue of 30 lakh shares aggregating to Rs 48.33 crore and an offer-for-sale (OFS) of 6.9 lakh shares worth Rs 10.97 crore, taking the total issue size to 37.29 lakh shares. The price band has been fixed between Rs 151 and Rs 159 per share.Investors can bid for a minimum lot of 1,600 shares, requiring an outlay of Rs 2.54 lakh at the upper end of the price band. For high-net-worth individuals, the minimum application size is three lots or 2,400 shares, amounting to Rs 3.81 lakh.Company profileKarbonsteel Engineering is engaged in designing, manufacturing, and supplying heavy and precision fabricated steel structures. The company caters to industries such as steel, railways, oil and gas, refineries, and infrastructure projects.Its offerings include heavy steel structures, pre-engineered buildings (PEBs), precision components, and bridge structures.Karbonsteel operates two manufacturing facilities in Gujarat and Maharashtra with a combined installed capacity of 32,400 metric tonnes annually.Financial performanceThe company has reported consistent growth in revenue and profitability. For FY25, it posted revenue of Rs 273.91 crore, up 25% from Rs 218.77 crore in FY24. Profit after tax jumped 50% year-on-year to Rs 14.16 crore, compared with Rs 9.42 crore in the previous fiscal.Objects of the issueThe company plans to utilise Rs 12.29 crore from the net proceeds for expansion of its Umbergaon facility, Rs 3.08 crore for repayment of borrowings, and Rs 25.25 crore towards working capital requirements. The rest will go towards general corporate purposes.With a GMP of about Rs 19 over the issue price, the stock is expected to list around Rs 178, indicating moderate listing gains if the sentiment sustains.Seren Capital is the book-running lead manager, and Maashitla Securities is the registrar to the issue. Rikhav Securities and SS Corporate Securities are acting as market makers.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of the Economic Times)
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