BUSINESS

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Samsung Electronics reported a better-than-expected 21.7 percent rise in first-quarter net profit on Wednesday, as consumers rushed to buy smartphones amid the looming threat of US tariffs. The South Korean tech giant said it expects improved earnings in the second half if "uncertainties are diminished."

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Netflix’s film viewership in the Asia-Pacific region increased by nearly 20% in 2024, reflecting the platform’s growing success in tapping into local stories. In the streamer’s most recent APAC Showcase in Tokyo, APAC VP of Content (outside Korea) Minyoung Kim revealed that over 100 titles from the region made it into Netflix’s worldwide top 10 of non-English titles last year. They comprised high-performing titles like Korea’s Uprising, Indonesia’s The Shadow Strays, and Japan’s City Hunter, which also drove a 900% increase in sales of the original manga.

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Netflix reported a quarterly profit of $2.9 billion on Thursday, fueled by a 13 percent revenue increase driven in part by recent subscription price hikes. The streaming television service said it was "off to a good start in 2025" with revenue reaching $10.5 billion in the recently ended quarter, citing growth in subscription and ad earnings, as well as the timing of certain expenses.

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Walgreens has agreed to pay the US Department of Justice up to $350 million to resolve allegations that it illegally filled millions of prescriptions for opioids and other controlled substances over the past decade. The settlement, reached last Friday, requires Walgreens to pay at least $300 million, with a further $50 million contingent on certain corporate actions before 2032.

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PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), one of the world’s leading professional services firms, has shut down its nine African operations in Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Republic of Guinea, Senegal, and Equatorial Guinea. This follows after it undertook a strategic review to cut financial and reputational risks in too-risky or unprofitable markets.

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Uber is facing a lawsuit from the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over allegations of deceptive billing and cancellation practices. The consumer protection watchdog accuses Uber of improperly charging customers for its Uber One subscription service and making it difficult for users to cancel their subscriptions.

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The World Trade Organization (WTO) has forecast a decline in global trade this year, directly attributing the downturn to tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump. The WTO warned that "severe downside risks," including retaliatory tariffs and political uncertainty, could lead to an even more significant drop in global goods trade, particularly in North America, where trade is projected to fall by more than a tenth.