TAIPEI, March 15 (Reuters) – Apple Inc supplier Foxconn (2317.TW) said on Wednesday it expected smart consumer electronics demand would decline slightly this year, as it reported a 10% fall in fourth-quarter net profit from a year earlier, in line with analysts estimates.

The world’s largest contract electronics maker, which gets more than half of its revenue from consumer electronics, forecast significant growth this year in other areas such as computing, cloud and networking and component products.

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First Republic Spoke To Private Equity Before Securing Financing – Sources

NEW YORK, March 15 (Reuters) – First Republic Bank (FRC.N) spoke to at least one private equity firm about raising capital before it secured financing from JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) and U.S. authorities intervened with support for the industry, two sources familiar with the matter said.

The conversations, which have not been previously reported, shed new light on the frenzied activity that took place over the weekend after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, as other lenders under pressure looked for ways to restore investor confidence.

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Uneasy Calm Descends After SVB-Triggered Turmoil

LONDON, March 15 (Reuters) – An uneasy calm descended on world markets on Wednesday, with efforts by regulators and financial executives to ease contagion fears sparked by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) shoring up sentiment.

But in a week that has seen banking shares around the world tank – the S&P 500 regional banks index (.SPLRCBNKS) has slid 18% – the mood remained fragile.

The European Central Bank is still leaning towards a half-percentage-point rate hike on Thursday, despite turmoil in the banking sector, given high inflation, a source close to its Governing Council told Reuters.

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ECB Likely To Stick To Big Rate Hike Despite Banking Turmoil, Source Says

FRANKFURT, March 15 (Reuters) – European Central Bank policymakers are still leaning towards a half-percentage-point rate hike on Thursday, despite turmoil in the banking sector, as they expect inflation will remain too high in coming years, a source told Reuters.

Investors had begun to doubt the ECB’s commitment to another big rate hike this week after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) in the U.S. sent ripples through global financial markets.

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Japan Inc Delivers Largest Wage Increases In Decades

TOKYO, March 15 (Reuters) – Top Japanese companies offered their largest pay increases in a quarter century on Wednesday as the outcome of annual labour talks showed them heeding, at least for now, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s calls for higher wages to counter inflation.

Worker pay has been one casualty of the years of sputtering growth in the world’s third-largest economy since the late 1990s, leaving Japanese salaries well behind the OECD average.

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