Weekly news summary for April 12-17, 2019

Friday, April 12: China March Exports Recover but Imports Weaken

While markets track the progress of trade discussions between the US and China, first-quarter data of the world’s second largest economy revealed on Friday ended a bit mixed.

Chinese exports recovered to a five-month high of 14.2% in March, exceeding forecasts and offering some support over the outlook for economic improvement, although imports faltered further by 7.6% to mark as its fourth consecutive month of weakness.

Monday, April 15: Toyota Sells EV Technology to Singulato

Toyota Motor has sealed a deal with Singulato Motors on Monday, agreeing to sell EV technology to the Chinese startup, enabling the emerging company to step up operations for a planned mini electric car.

The Japanese automaker in return will gain preferential rights to acquire green-car credits that Singulato will produce under China’s new quota system for all-electric and plug-in hybrid automobiles, as well as a view into how Chinese EV startups run and the methods they follow in a rapidly changing industry.

Tuesday, April 16: Lufthansa Posts €336M Loss in the First Quarter

Shares of Lufthansa dropped 1% on Tuesday after Germany’s largest airline experienced an unexpected loss in the first quarter.

Lufthansa cited growing fuel costs and lower fares due to overcapacity as reasons for the adjusted loss of 336 million euros in the first quarter.

Wednesday, April 17: Qualcomm Establishes Surprise Agreement with Apple

Qualcomm hit a major success in its legal dispute with Apple as the two tech firms established a surprise arrangement that allows the chipmaker to once again equip iPhones with its modem chips.

Qualcomm’s stock was up $75.25 in after-hours trading, having gained 23% to $70.45 following the news, marking as its biggest increase in over 19 years.