At Asia’s biggest metal industry gathering last week, a single word dominated almost every conversation — fapiao , China’s humble tax receipt. At their most basic, these official forms — printed and distributed by the government, and vital for closing payments — offer proof of purchase and ensure tax compliance. Crucially, they can also be used to secure financing, meaning these slips also grease ...
At Asia’s biggest metal industry gathering last week, a single word dominated almost every conversation — fapiao , China’s humble tax receipt. At their most basic, these official forms — printed and distributed by the government, and vital for closing payments — offer proof of purchase and ensure tax compliance. Crucially, they can also be used to secure financing, meaning these slips also grease the trade that keeps metals and other commodities flowing around the world’s largest consumer. Now Beijing is pulling apart the so-called ‘invoice economy’ in order to crack down on fraudulent trades and to rein in a system that can inflate revenue, blurring the line between real demand and financial engineering. Traders say that not every business will survive the strain of a halt that is already paralyzing parts of the copper trade. “The crackdown has left many physical metals traders unable to do their businesses,” said Jia Zheng, a trading manager at Suzhou Chuangyuan Harmony-Win Capital Management Co. According to estimates from more than 20 traders surveyed by Bloomberg during last week’s meetings in Hong Kong, over half of China’s spot copper trading volumes have been hit by defaults on contracts or delays. Some merchants and smelter-linked units have been left unable to complete transactions. Traders also cited the rising cost of inventories, as metal cannot be shipped. With the campaign expected to last until the end of July, several said they expected to see small and medium-sized trading houses pushed over the edge. They asked not to be named as the issue is sensitive. “Some importers are already worried,” Tiger Shi , an industry veteran and the chief executive officer of brokerage BANDS Financial Ltd. , said. “With fewer tax invoices available, it’s going to get harder to bring copper into China.” Read More: China Tax Authorities Rattle Metal Market With Invoice Crackdown A crackdown by authorities in Shanghai has added to moves in other provinces, like Guangdon...
Bridging the gap between science fiction and reality, a Chinese robotics firm on Tuesday unveiled a manned “mecha” capable of transitioning between bipedal walking and four-legged mode. Developed by Unitree Robotics, the GD01 – resembling an Autobot from a Transformers movie – is a high-strength alloy machine designed for civilian transport. It weighs 500kg with a pilot on board – roughly the weig...
Bridging the gap between science fiction and reality, a Chinese robotics firm on Tuesday unveiled a manned “mecha” capable of transitioning between bipedal walking and four-legged mode. Developed by Unitree Robotics, the GD01 – resembling an Autobot from a Transformers movie – is a high-strength alloy machine designed for civilian transport. It weighs 500kg with a pilot on board – roughly the weight of a grand piano – and carries a starting price of 3.9 million yuan (US$573,674), according to...
FG Trade/E+ via Getty Images Here at the Lab, we were not very lucky with our Viatris Inc. ( VTRS ) coverage initiation , which happened just a few days before the Middle East escalation. That said, we reported a positive total return since then (Fig. 1), and the company released supportive Q1 2026 results and, more importantly, presented new medium-term targets in a New York investor day. Our buy...
FG Trade/E+ via Getty Images Here at the Lab, we were not very lucky with our Viatris Inc. ( VTRS ) coverage initiation , which happened just a few days before the Middle East escalation. That said, we reported a positive total return since then (Fig. 1), and the company released supportive Q1 2026 results and, more importantly, presented new medium-term targets in a New York investor day. Our buy rating was supported by 1) positive pipeline catalysts expected in 2026–2027 with growth reacceleration and margin expansion, 2) a FCF yield above 10% with deleveraging capacity, and 3) a valuation re-rating thanks to earnings visibility improvement. Mare Ev. Lab Rating Update Fig. 1. Q1 Results The company started 2026 with Q1 top-line sales of $3.5 billion (Fig. 2), an 8% year-over-year increase. Performance was mainly supported by continued momentum in Greater China, alongside resilient demand across branded products and emerging markets. Viatris delivered an adjusted EBITDA increase of 10%, driven by commercial execution and a better GEO mix, particularly in Greater China (Fig. 3). The company also beat Wall Street expectations, reporting diluted EPS of $0.59. For the above reason, the company reiterated its full-year 2026 guidance. More importantly, the company continues to focus on higher-growth therapeutic areas and emphasizes ongoing progress in strengthening its product pipeline. Viatris Q1 Financials in a Snap Fig. 2. Viatris China Positive Results Fig. 3. Why are we positive? We came away from Viatris’ Q1 results with increased confidence in the company's outlook. Management's commitment to Viatris’s growth strengthens our high-conviction equity investment. While the growth narrative had already been gradually improving, the introduction of a defined long-term framework provides a more credible anchor for investors (and Wall Street analysts). Top-line sales were notably ahead of expectations. In numbers, Viatris' midpoint of a five-year CAGR target (3.5%—Fig. 4)...
Canada expects to conclude free trade agreements with the Philippines and the wider Southeast Asian bloc this year, as Ottawa seeks to boost business ties with the region and grow its non-US trade. “Negotiations are really going well,” visiting Canadian International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu said in an interview on Tuesday, after meeting with Philippine Trade Secretary Cristina Roque and Fina...
Canada expects to conclude free trade agreements with the Philippines and the wider Southeast Asian bloc this year, as Ottawa seeks to boost business ties with the region and grow its non-US trade. “Negotiations are really going well,” visiting Canadian International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu said in an interview on Tuesday, after meeting with Philippine Trade Secretary Cristina Roque and Finance Secretary Frederick Go . Sidhu said Canada is also joining the Luzon Economic Corridor, a project backed by the US and Japan and where Ottawa is putting in C$2 million ($1.5 million). “It sends a signal to the Canadian businesses out there that want to look at investing in the Luzon Economic Corridor that Canada’s skin is in the game.” Potential investments include data center, logistics and energy, he said. Read More: US Plans 4,000-Acre Hub in Philippines to Boost Supply Chains In pursuing free trade with the Philippines, Canada is looking at Manila’s expanding middle class, which bodes well with its agriculture exports, according to the minister. Canada and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations agreed to start free trade talks in late 2021, when “the world was in a different place,” Sidhu said. Prime Minister Mark Carney is committed to diversifying the nation’s trading partners and there’s a political will to conclude the Canada-Asean FTA, he added. Carney last year laid out a strategy to double Canada’s exports to markets outside the US within a decade to net an extra C$300 billion in trade. Sidhu, who is also scheduled to meet with Manila’s Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. , said Canada similarly wants to be a defense supplier to the Philippines which is aiming to modernize its military capabilities. Canada and the Philippines signed a visiting forces agreement last year, and it deployed troops during the annual flagship US-Philippines military drills that ended last week. Read More: Philippines Inks Military Pact With Canada in Bid to Deter China
Earnings Call Insights: Hims & Hers Health (HIMS) Q1 2026 Management View "It's been a strong, meaningful start to the year at Hims & Hers... 2026 has proven to be a year of accelerating growth, which reinforces our confidence in our ambitious 2030 targets." (Co-Founder, Chairman & CEO Andrew Dudum) "In March, we announced a strategic shift in our weight loss business... focuses on providing custo...
Earnings Call Insights: Hims & Hers Health (HIMS) Q1 2026 Management View "It's been a strong, meaningful start to the year at Hims & Hers... 2026 has proven to be a year of accelerating growth, which reinforces our confidence in our ambitious 2030 targets." (Co-Founder, Chairman & CEO Andrew Dudum) "In March, we announced a strategic shift in our weight loss business... focuses on providing customers on our platform with access to the broadest possible assortment of innovative medications." (CEO Dudum) "Within 6 weeks of introducing direct access to Novo Nordisk's GLP-1 products to our platform, we have fulfilled more than 125,000 shipments for Wegovy products." (CEO Dudum) "We expect our planned acquisition of Eucalyptus to close in the second half of this year." (CEO Dudum) "We believe our investment in YourBio's microneedle blood sampling technology will make deeper health insights across key biomarkers even easier to access." (CEO Dudum) "We now have nearly 40 members in our AI team..." and "we currently have an AI copilot live on the provider side of the platform." (Chief Technology Officer Mohamed ElShenawy) "In March, we made a deliberate strategic pivot within our weight loss specialty..." (Chief Financial Officer Yemi Okupe) Outlook "In the second quarter, we are anticipating revenue in the range of $680 million to $700 million" and "we expect adjusted EBITDA to be between $35 million to $55 million." (CFO Okupe) "For the full year, we are raising our 2026 revenue outlook to $2.8 billion to $3 billion" and "we expect... adjusted EBITDA will be between $275 million and $350 million." (CFO Okupe) "We expect gross margins to compress as we prioritize scaling areas such as weight loss, labs and international markets" and "near-term margin headwinds are expected in the second quarter as the majority of our weight loss specialty moves toward 1-month shipments." (CFO Okupe) Compared with the prior quarter’s initial 2026 outlook of "$2.7 billion to $2.9 billion" r...