SAN FRANCISCO | Thu Jan 31, 2013 10:14pm EST

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Audience Inc seems to be doing pretty well, even with less of Apple: the audio technology company forecast quarterly revenue well above Wall Street's expectations, helped by more business from Samsung and other smartphone makers.

Shares of Audience jumped 24 percent in after hours trading, after the company said Thursday that it expected revenue between $43 million and $46 million in the March quarter, versus analysts' average estimate of $31.8 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Audience, which went public in May 2012, saw its stock slump 58 percent in a single session last September on news that Apple Inc, to which it had been a supplier since 2008, would likely drop its noise-filtering technology in future iPhones, including the iPhone 5.

Its quarterly report underscored the increasing opportunity for Apple's suppliers to look to Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and other mobile device makers to fuel their growth as the iPhone and iPad face stiffer competition.

"Most people bought this stock at the IPO because it was an Apple business. But there's life without Apple," said Jay Srivatsa, an analyst at Chardan Capital Markets.

Audience executives said that more business from Samsung and other smartphone makers would offset dwindling revenue from Apple as fewer and fewer older iPhones that use its technology are sold.

Audience's chief executive, Peter Santos, told Reuters that as growth in smartphone sales moderates, manufacturers would fight more for market share.

"This idea that things stay the way they are - that Apple has a dominant position - I think we're seeing early signs that that's not going to be a permanent situation," Santos said. "What they've done and continue to do is great, but the world is much bigger."

The amount of Audience's revenue that comes from Apple fell from 40 percent in the September quarter to 33 percent in the December quarter.

Chief Financial Officer Kevin Palatnik said Apple would continue to contribute about a third of Audience's revenue in the first quarter, and then decline further this year as Apple launches new devices.

SAMSUNG BOOST

Samsung accounts for more than half of revenue at the Mountain View, California company, which sells chips and licenses intellectual property that improve voice quality in mobile devices by filtering out background noise.

To be sure, even with the jump in Audience's shares following its results on Thursday, its stock price is still 20 percent lower than before it disclosed its loss of Apple's business.

Audience's technology is used in Samsung's Galaxy S3 smartphone, giving it a reasonable chance that it will also be used in future Samsung devices.

"Part of the reason Q1 is so good is they're potentially in the Galaxy S4 that's going to be launched in the April-May timeframe," said Srivatsa of Chardan Capital.

Audience's technology is not used in the iPhone 5, but it is used in two prior generations of the smartphone.

Apple sold a record 48 million iPhones in the December quarter, but its share of the overall market is expected to peak this year at 22 percent and become dependent on repeat business from loyal customers unless it accepts lower margins by making low-cost iPhones, according to ABI Research.

In the fourth quarter that ended in December, Audience posted revenue of $38.7 million, up from $18.0 million in the year-earlier period and beating analysts' expectations of $31.8 million. Quarterly net income was $3.1 million, or 14 cents per share, swinging from a net loss of $5.6 million, or $5.56 per share, a year earlier.

Audience's shares were 24 percent higher in extended trade after closing up 2.86 percent at $12.22.

(This story is refiled to correct figure to $38.7 million, not $38.7 billion, in 17th paragraph)

(Reporting By Noel Randewich; Editing by Carol Bishopric and Chris Gallagher)

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India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh attends the plenary session of the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit in New Delhi December 20, 2012.

NEW DELHI | Thu Dec 27, 2012 12:45am EST

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh struck a downbeat note on the challenges facing the Indian economy on Thursday, dubbing a five-year plan for average growth of 8 percent "ambitious".

India's GDP growth has languished below 6 percent for three straight quarters, a far cry from the near-double-digit pace of expansion before the 2008 global financial downturn.

Economic growth for the fiscal year ending in March is expected to be 5.7-5.9 percent, India's slowest since 2002/03.

"I must emphasize, that achieving a target of 8 percent growth, following less than 6 percent in the first year, is still an ambitious target," Singh told a conference of state chief ministers to finalize the government's 2012-2017 economic plan.

The downturn prodded Singh, castigated for years of policy inertia, to launch the most daring initiatives of his tenure in September, including raising subsidized diesel prices and opening the retail and other sectors to foreign players.

However, one of Singh's key policy advisers, Montek Singh Ahluwalia warned at the meeting that growth could get stuck at 5.0-5.5 percent if a policy logjam continues.

"A high growth scenario will not be realized if we follow a business-as-usual policy," Singh said, echoing his adviser.

"Our first priority must be to reverse this slowdown. We cannot change the global economy but we can do something about the domestic constraints which have contributed to the downturn."

Analysts say the government must take more reform steps quickly, including speeding up the process for approval of investment projects, overhauling the tax system and reducing a swollen fiscal deficit by reining in its subsidy bill.

Singh said that subsidies on energy products should be limited, with a phased adjustment of prices.

"Unfortunately, energy is under-priced in our country. Our coal, petroleum products, and natural gas are priced well below international prices. This also means that electricity is effectively under-priced," he said.

"Immediate adjustment of prices to close the gap is not feasible, I realize this, but some phased price adjustment is necessary."

He added that early implementation of a Goods and Services Tax (GST), a long-delayed plan intended to replace myriad state and central taxes, was critical to raise the tax/GDP ratio.

(Reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh; Editing by John Chalmers)

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Four thousand U.S. dollars are counted out by a banker counting currency at a bank in Westminster, Colorado November 3, 2009.

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A customer looks at products on sale at a supermarket in central Beijing June 12, 2012.

BEIJING | Sun Oct 7, 2012 9:00am EDT

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's retail sales growth slowed during the Golden Week holiday, local media said on Sunday, providing a snapshot of increasingly important sources of demand in the world's second-largest economy.

Overall retail sales revenue grew 15 percent to hit 800.6 billion yuan ($127.4 billion) during the National Day holiday, which coincided with the Mid-Autumn Festival to provide a rare eight-day break, China's state television China Central Television said.

That marked a cooldown from the 17.5 percent growth last year during a seven-day holiday. No further details were given,

The Golden Week holiday, when millions of people take time out to travel and spend more than usual, brings huge discounts and promotions as retailers battle for market share.

Economists are watching China's 1.3 billion consumers closely during the National Day Golden week holiday, running from Sept 30 to Oct 7, amid escalating worries about China's hard landing. ($1 = 6.2849 Chinese yuan)

(Reporting by Judy Hua and Koh Gui Qing; editing by Ron Askew)

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Shoppers checkout at a Target store in Falls Church, Virginia May 28, 2010. U.S. consumer spending was unexpectedly flat in April but real disposable incomes recorded their biggest increase in nearly a year a government report showed on Friday.

WASHINGTON | Fri Sep 28, 2012 4:31pm EDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. households stretched to pay for costlier gasoline on meager income growth in August, undercutting spending on other items and pointing to lackluster economic growth.

Other data on Friday showed factory activity in the Midwest contracted this month for the first time in three years.

The Commerce Department said consumer spending rose 0.5 percent last month after gaining 0.4 percent in July. The increase was the largest in six months, but it reflected a rise in gasoline costs that pushed inflation up by the most in nearly 1-1/2 years.

Adjusting for the jump in prices, spending edged up a scant 0.1 percent. With inflation wiping out their buying power, consumers curbed their saving to fund purchases -- a potentially bad omen for future spending.

"Consumers are supporting the recovery, but they are just not able to lead it because of the soft jobs market and little income. They are running low on fire power," said Ryan Sweet, a senior economist at Moody's Analytics in West Chester, Pennsylvania.

Income ticked up 0.1 percent but was down 0.3 percent after accounting for inflation and taxes. It was the first decline in real disposable income since November.

With inflation-adjusted spending barely rising last month, real consumer spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of U.S. economic activity, is unlikely to grow much more than the tepid 1.5 percent annual pace recorded in the April-June period.

Walgreen Co, the largest U.S. drugstore chain, posted a lower quarterly profit on Friday and said it had faced a challenging year in which consumers cut back on everyday purchases. At stores open at least a year, sales fell 8.7 percent in Walgreen's latest quarter.

FACTORIES LOSING STEAM

Separately, the Institute for Supply Management-Chicago said its Midwest factory barometer found activity contracted this month for the first time since September 2009, reflecting weak new orders and a slowdown in hiring.

It was consistent with other recent reports flagging a cooling in manufacturing, a sector that had been the pillar of the economy's recovery.

"To the extent that the moderation in manufacturing activity is reflecting weakening domestic and global demand, it may be a harbinger of continued sup-par GDP growth," said Millan Mulraine, a senior economist at TD Securities in New York.

But households appear little perturbed by the gathering dark clouds. Consumer confidence touched a four-month high in September, boosted by higher stock market prices and gains in home values. That resilience could be a boost to President Barack Obama as he seeks a second term in November.

Economists, however, cautioned that household morale could sour towards the end of the year if the U.S. Congress fails to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff -- $600 billion or so in expiring tax cuts and government spending reductions set to take hold in 2013.

The mixed data sent U.S. stocks lower. However, Wall Street recorded its best third quarter since 2010. Prices for U.S. Treasury debt pushed higher, supported by doubts over the chances for success of debt-ridden Spain's 2013 budget. The dollar rose against the euro, advancing for a second straight week.

TROUBLE GAINING STEAM

Slower consumer spending and a drop in farm inventories due to a severe drought in the Midwest held gross domestic product growth to a 1.3 percent pace in the second quarter, a step down from 2 percent in the first three months of the year.

Growth estimates for the third quarter range from 1.2 percent to 2.1 percent. Spending last month was funded by cutting back on saving, which economists said put households on shaky ground, particularly if income taxes go up in January.

"It highlights how imperative it is that Congress deals with this issue. This is not an economy that can bear the burden of fiscal tightening right now," said Julia Coronado, chief North America economist at BNP Paribas in New York.

Inflation pressures picked up last month on the back of the 28.2 cents per gallon rise in gasoline prices. A price index for personal spending increased 0.4 percent, the largest rise since March last year, taking the 12-month gain up to 1.5 percent from 1.3 percent in July.

However, a measure which strips out food and energy costs, rose only 0.1 percent from July. Year-on-year that core measure was up 1.6 percent, the same as in July and the fifth straight month of increases below 2 percent.

The Federal Reserve has a 2 percent inflation target and the still-moderate pace of inflation should give it comfort to maintain its accommodative monetary policy stance for a while as it seeks to spur job growth and domestic demand.

(Additional reporting by Jessica Wohl in Chicago; Editing by Tim Ahmann and Kenneth Barry)

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Shoppers checkout at a Target store in Falls Church, Virginia May 28, 2010. U.S. consumer spending was unexpectedly flat in April but real disposable incomes recorded their biggest increase in nearly a year a government report showed on Friday.

WASHINGTON | Fri Sep 28, 2012 4:31pm EDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. households stretched to pay for costlier gasoline on meager income growth in August, undercutting spending on other items and pointing to lackluster economic growth.

Other data on Friday showed factory activity in the Midwest contracted this month for the first time in three years.

The Commerce Department said consumer spending rose 0.5 percent last month after gaining 0.4 percent in July. The increase was the largest in six months, but it reflected a rise in gasoline costs that pushed inflation up by the most in nearly 1-1/2 years.

Adjusting for the jump in prices, spending edged up a scant 0.1 percent. With inflation wiping out their buying power, consumers curbed their saving to fund purchases -- a potentially bad omen for future spending.

"Consumers are supporting the recovery, but they are just not able to lead it because of the soft jobs market and little income. They are running low on fire power," said Ryan Sweet, a senior economist at Moody's Analytics in West Chester, Pennsylvania.

Income ticked up 0.1 percent but was down 0.3 percent after accounting for inflation and taxes. It was the first decline in real disposable income since November.

With inflation-adjusted spending barely rising last month, real consumer spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of U.S. economic activity, is unlikely to grow much more than the tepid 1.5 percent annual pace recorded in the April-June period.

Walgreen Co, the largest U.S. drugstore chain, posted a lower quarterly profit on Friday and said it had faced a challenging year in which consumers cut back on everyday purchases. At stores open at least a year, sales fell 8.7 percent in Walgreen's latest quarter.

FACTORIES LOSING STEAM

Separately, the Institute for Supply Management-Chicago said its Midwest factory barometer found activity contracted this month for the first time since September 2009, reflecting weak new orders and a slowdown in hiring.

It was consistent with other recent reports flagging a cooling in manufacturing, a sector that had been the pillar of the economy's recovery.

"To the extent that the moderation in manufacturing activity is reflecting weakening domestic and global demand, it may be a harbinger of continued sup-par GDP growth," said Millan Mulraine, a senior economist at TD Securities in New York.

But households appear little perturbed by the gathering dark clouds. Consumer confidence touched a four-month high in September, boosted by higher stock market prices and gains in home values. That resilience could be a boost to President Barack Obama as he seeks a second term in November.

Economists, however, cautioned that household morale could sour towards the end of the year if the U.S. Congress fails to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff -- $600 billion or so in expiring tax cuts and government spending reductions set to take hold in 2013.

The mixed data sent U.S. stocks lower. However, Wall Street recorded its best third quarter since 2010. Prices for U.S. Treasury debt pushed higher, supported by doubts over the chances for success of debt-ridden Spain's 2013 budget. The dollar rose against the euro, advancing for a second straight week.

TROUBLE GAINING STEAM

Slower consumer spending and a drop in farm inventories due to a severe drought in the Midwest held gross domestic product growth to a 1.3 percent pace in the second quarter, a step down from 2 percent in the first three months of the year.

Growth estimates for the third quarter range from 1.2 percent to 2.1 percent. Spending last month was funded by cutting back on saving, which economists said put households on shaky ground, particularly if income taxes go up in January.

"It highlights how imperative it is that Congress deals with this issue. This is not an economy that can bear the burden of fiscal tightening right now," said Julia Coronado, chief North America economist at BNP Paribas in New York.

Inflation pressures picked up last month on the back of the 28.2 cents per gallon rise in gasoline prices. A price index for personal spending increased 0.4 percent, the largest rise since March last year, taking the 12-month gain up to 1.5 percent from 1.3 percent in July.

However, a measure which strips out food and energy costs, rose only 0.1 percent from July. Year-on-year that core measure was up 1.6 percent, the same as in July and the fifth straight month of increases below 2 percent.

The Federal Reserve has a 2 percent inflation target and the still-moderate pace of inflation should give it comfort to maintain its accommodative monetary policy stance for a while as it seeks to spur job growth and domestic demand.

(Additional reporting by Jessica Wohl in Chicago; Editing by Tim Ahmann and Kenneth Barry)

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Employees make circuit boards at an electronic component factory in Hefei, Anhui province May 2, 2012.

BEIJING | Sat Sep 29, 2012 12:34am EDT

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's economy has almost certainly suffered a seventh straight quarter of slowing growth, with a new private sector survey of factory managers revealing a near year-long decline in business activity and a fresh fall in export orders in September.

The HSBC China Manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) showed overall factory activity shrank for an 11th consecutive month in September, despite the 47.9 final index level being slightly ahead of a preliminary, or flash, estimate of 47.8 and the August reading of 47.6.

It extends the longest run of readings below 50 - which separates expansion from contraction - in the survey's 8-year history, with the need for more pro-growth government policies signaled by a fall in the output sub-index to its lowest since March and a slide in export orders to a 42-month trough.

"The sharper contraction of new export orders and the lingering pressures on job markets mean that Beijing should step up easing to support growth and employment," Qu Hongbin, chief China economist for survey sponsor HSBC, said in a statement.

Two cuts to interest rates, the easing of bank reserve requirements that freed about 1.2 trillion yuan ($190 billion) for lending and the approval of infrastructure projects worth more than $150 billion have so far failed to arrest the decline in China's overall economic growth.

"Fiscal measures should play a more important role in the coming months," Qu said.

Analysts expect 2012 to be China's weakest full year of growth since 1999 at just 7.7 percent, according a Reuters poll which forecasts annual growth of 7.4 percent in Q3, down from Q2's 7.6 percent.

The slide in the PMI's export orders sub-index to a three-and-a-half-year low of 44.9 is a crucial gauge for the accuracy of that call.

EXPORT SLIDE

Exports generated 31 percent of gross domestic product in 2011, according to World Bank data, and support an estimated 200 million jobs - around a quarter of the country's workforce.

Export growth this year is averaging around 7.8 percent versus 2011. August's growth slumped to 2.7 percent compared with a year ago and the Commerce Ministry sees a risk that things get worse in the months ahead - jeopardizing the official 10 percent target for expanding trade this year.

An adviser to China's central bank conceded on Thursday that Beijing policymakers had underestimated the severity of this year's global economic slowdown and said that further cuts to interest rates or reserve requirements would hinge on any new deterioration in the external environment.

China's exports have been hit hard by the festering sovereign debt crisis in the European Union, where a slide back towards recession has sapped demand in the single biggest foreign market for Chinese factory goods.

Analysts say the destocking it has triggered has dragged down industrial production growth and will ultimately show up when Q3 economic data is published in mid-October.

"We expect the data to show that demand remained weak, destocking continued and the recovery has yet to happen," said Tao Wang, China economist at UBS in Hong Kong.

"We forecast that industrial production growth slowed to about 8.6 percent year-on-year in September, while Q3 GDP growth slowed to 7.3 percent year-on-year," she wrote in a client note.

Tao believes the deterioration is so entrenched that GDP growth will slow to an annual rate of 7.0 percent in Q4 before rebounding through the course of 2013.

The consensus view is that Q3 is the nadir of this cycle and the HSBC PMI offers some sign that this may be the case, despite the index having consistently pointed to a more bearish economic backdrop this year than China's official PMI.

The official PMI is set to be released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on October 1 and analysts polled by Reuters expect it to have rebounded to 49.8 from August's 49.2.

A difference in samples and survey methodology largely explain the discrepancy. The NBS captures data from China's biggest firms - the dominant state-owned enterprises - while Markit, the UK-based data provider that compiles the survey sponsored by HSBC, tracks mainly smaller private sector firms.

SOME SIGNS OF STABILISATION

Markit said its survey detected some signs of stabilization in manufacturing activity in September as the rate of deterioration in the sector eased.

Backlogs of work remained steady for 77 percent of respondents, while only 13 percent reported a decrease.

And it said the rate of job cuts reported was relatively modest, with nearly 85 percent of survey respondents indicating no change in employment levels on the previous month.

Unemployment is a vital indicator for China's ruling Communist Party, which is acutely sensitive to anything that could trigger discontent in the run-up to its party congress - expected later this autumn - when a new generation of leaders will be named ahead of a once-a-decade handover of power.

The loss of millions of Chinese factory jobs in a matter of months in late 2008 as world trade ground to a halt during the depths of the global financial crisis triggered a massive 4 trillion yuan ($635 billion) stimulus package from Beijing.

The lack of job cuts so far and persistent signs of tightness in the labor market are cited by analysts as one reason for the government's reluctance to open the stimulus taps this time around, along with attendant inflationary and speculative risks that it could unleash.

Credit ratings agency Fitch said on Friday it had downgraded its 2012 growth forecast for China to 7.8 percent, from 8 percent previously, on a combination of slowing exports and efforts to squeeze speculative risks from the economy.

But it said it did not expect Beijing to deploy any more than marginal monetary and fiscal tools to boost growth, unless there was a sudden deterioration in the labor market.

"The resilience of the labor market seen in current data suggests growth of 7.5-8.0 percent may be in line with the economy's potential rate," Fitch said.

(Editing by Alex Richardson)

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A man grabs his briefcase as he waits in line to speak with employers at the UJA-Federation Connect to Care job fair in New York, March 21, 2012.

WASHINGTON | Thu Aug 9, 2012 4:52pm EDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits unexpectedly fell last week, offering hope that some of last month's improvement in job growth could be sustained and give the U.S. economy a lift.

Other data on Thursday was also positive with the international trade deficit in June the smallest in 1-1/2 years as the petroleum import bill dropped sharply.

While the smaller trade gap implied upward revisions to the government's estimate of second-quarter gross domestic product published last month, the impact was blunted somewhat by an unexpected drop in wholesale stocks in June.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits slipped 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 361,000, the Labor Department said. Economists had expected claims to rise to 370,000 last week.

The data came after a Labor Department report last week showed that in July employers hired the most workers in five months.

"The fact that initial jobless claims have fallen back to their March lows suggests faster employment gains will continue to support consumer spending in the coming months," said Harm Bandholz, chief U.S. economist at UniCredit Research in New York.

U.S. nonfarm payrolls increased 163,000 in July after three months of gains below 100,000. But the unemployment rate rose by a tenth of a percentage point to 8.3 percent.

Last week's jobless benefit claims report was the first in several weeks not affected by auto plant shutdowns, which caused wide swings in claims in July, making it difficult to get a clean reading on the jobs market.

A second report from the Commerce Department on Thursday showed the shortfall on the trade balance narrowed 10.7 percent to $42.9 billion, the smallest since December 2010, as low oil prices curbed imports.

That was below economists' expectations for a $47.5 billion deficit. The oil import bill fell $2.2 billion to 32.9 billion, the lowest since February. That was as the average price per barrel of crude oil dropped by the most since January 2009.

The reports helped the Standard & Poor's 500 stock index eke out a small gain and extend its rally for a fifth day on the New York stock market. Prices for U.S. government debt edged down, while the dollar rose broadly.

EXPORTS HIT RECORD HIGH

Immediately after the trade report, economists forecast the initial second-quarter U.S. GDP growth estimate would be revised to as high as 2.2 percent, but tempered those predictions after a later report showed a decline in wholesale inventories in June.

Second-quarter growth is now seen revised up to an annual pace of at least 1.8 percent from 1.5 percent. The government will publish its second GDP estimate later this month.

Total wholesale inventories slipped 0.2 percent, the largest fall since September, after being flat in May, as the value of petroleum stocks tumbled 8.7 percent - the largest drop since October 2008.

Inventory changes are a key component of GDP and contributed about a third of a percentage point to growth in the second quarter. Trade cut almost a third of a percentage point from GDP growth.

Exports in June increased 0.9 percent to a record $185.0 billion, with consumer goods such as pharmaceuticals posting strong gains. Motor vehicle exports increased 5.7 percent.

Overall imports of goods and services declined 1.5 percent to $227.9 billion. Outside petroleum, there were decreases in consumer goods imports, underscoring the weak domestic demand. The country imported less food and capital goods in June.

However, industrial supplies and motor vehicle imports rose.

"As long as we can keep selling more of our goods across the world, the economy can grow at a moderate pace," said Joel Naroff, chief economist at Naroff Economic Advisors in Holland, Pennsylvania.

"Despite all the craziness in Europe and the slowdowns in Asia, our exports managed to increase. We shipped more of just about everything except food."

While exports showed strength in June, anecdotal evidence suggests a slowdown because of weak global demand. The Institute for Supply Management's export index declined in July for a third straight month.

There also are concerns that the worst U.S. drought since 1956, which has ravaged half of the country, could hit agricultural exports.

U.S. exports to the 27-nation European Union, in the grip of a continuing debt crisis that has slowed growth on the continent, increased 1.7 percent in June to $23.3 billion.

Exports to China, which is also growing more slowly than in recent years, fell 4.3 percent in June. Economists believed the drop in imports would be temporary, especially with the labor market improvement expected to lift consumer spending.

"A stronger labor market implies better consumer spending ahead, which will certainly lead to more robust trade figures," said Omair Sharif, an economist at RBS in Stamford, Connecticut.

"We will end up importing more and get the deficit widening. But that's not necessarily a bad thing."

(Lucia.Mutikani@thomsonreuters.com)

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