Weekly news summary for October 7 to October 13

Friday, Oct. 7: Samsung Reports First Profit Drop Since 2019

Samsung Electronics Co. reported on Friday its first profit drop since 2019, further stressing the severity of a global slump in PC and memory chip demand.

The company said its third-quarter operating profit came in at ₩10.8 trillion ($7.6 billion), down 32% from the ₩15.8 trillion generated in the same period last year, while sales came in at ₩76 trillion to register a quarter-on-quarter drop of 1.5%, but a year-on-year gain of 2.7%.

Monday, Oct. 10: Bitcoin Hash Rate Rises to New All-time High

The Bitcoin hash rate was up to a fresh all-time high after seeing a 13.5% increase during the latest difficulty adjustment.

While the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market value has traded below $20,000, the adjustment continued to climb from the lows of August 2021, reaching an all-time high of 35.61 trillion on Monday, after a period where six blocks were solved consecutively.

Tuesday, Oct. 11: UK Unemployment Rate Falls to Lowest Since 1974

The UK’s unemployment rate declined to its lowest since 1974 as people leaving the labor market and not seeking a job rose to a record high, further increasing the Bank of England’s (BoE) concerns about inflation.

The government stated that unemployment in the UK dropped 3.5% in the three months to August, the lowest level since 1974, with the number of inactive individuals rising to 252,000 from the three months to May, the largest surge since records started in 1971.

Wednesday, Oct. 12: US Dollar Hits 24-Year High on Japanese Yen

The US dollar hit a fresh 24-year high against the Japanese yen on Wednesday, trading above levels that led authorities of Tokyo to perform an intervention in September when the safe-haven currency dropped to 145.90 per dollar.

The greenback rose as high as ¥146.39 in Asian trade, the first time the dollar reached that level since August 1998, while the US dollar index climbed 0.1% to $113.35.

Thursday, Oct. 13: TSMC Q3 Profit Shows Strongest Surge in 2 Years

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) Ltd. saw its net profit rise 80% in the third quarter, its strongest surge in two years, as it posted solid sales of its high-tech chips for data centers and electric vehicles (EVs).

The world’s most advanced chipmaker stated that its net profit climbed to T$280.9 billion ($8.81 billion) in the three months ending Sept. 30, with revenue for the quarter gaining 36% to $20.23 billion.