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LONDON — World oil prices struck fresh 2019 peaks on Tuesday, boosting energy shares prices.

Crude futures extended Monday's sharp rally, which was triggered by a US crackdown on Iranian oil exports.

Brent North Sea crude reached $74.70 per barrel on Tuesday, the highest point since early November.

WTI hit a similar near six-month high at $66.19 per barrel. 

"UK markets have returned from their long break with solid gains for the FTSE 100, led by strength in oil stocks, thanks to the surge in crude prices over the past 24 hours," noted Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG trading group.

Brent had rallied more than $2 per barrel on Monday and WTI jumped $1.70. 

The White House on Monday announced it was calling an end to six-month waivers that had exempted countries from unilateral US sanctions on Iranian oil exports.

Starting in May, these countries — China, India, Turkey, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Italy and Greece — would face sanctions if they continue to buy oil from Iran.

"This points to a big drop in the supply side, which boosts the commodity's price," said Margaret Yang Yan, market analyst at CMC Markets Singapore.

"Iran's daily oil output amounts to 1.3 million barrels, according to latest figures in end March." 

But she added that "the sustainability of oil's rally depends on Saudi and other OPEC members' actions to increase oil supply in the month to come".

Stephen Innes, head of trading and market strategy at SPI Asset Management, said rising crude prices meant $80 per barrel was now a "possibility".

"Oil quickly repriced higher on fears that markets could face an immediate supply crunch, adding more pressure to the already tenuous global supply squeeze," he added.

Energy and oil-linked shares jumped on Tuesday, with Tokyo-listed crude developer Inpex rallying 2.8 per cent and oil refiner JXTG up 1.1 per cent.

In London, BP shot up 2.4 per cent and Shell jumped 2.3 per cent — also as European stock markets reopened following the long Easter holiday weekend and before a deluge of corporate results this week.

"Some of the world's biggest technology companies are reporting earnings this week as well as a raft of the big European banks," Nick Twidale, chief operating officer at Rakuten Securities Australia, said in a note to clients. 

"Investors will be hoping for some better-than-expected results from both groups to keep the topside momentum in global equities."

Separately, Sri Lanka's stock market slumped 3.6 per cent as the Colombo Stock Exchange reopened for trading after terror attacks on Easter Sunday killed more than 320 people.

AMMAN — Citibank N. A. Jordan is working in collaboration with Citi’s Inclusive Finance group to advance financial access for 10,000 women across Jordan, according to a statement of the Citibank N. A. Jordan. 

Jordan has made progress in advancing financial inclusion for women in recent years, the statement said, citing the Global Findex data released by the World Bank.

 In 2018, a total of 26.6 per cent of women in Jordan had a bank account, recording more 10 per cent increase since 2014.

However, with just over one in ten women in Jordan participating in the formal economy, there is still more work to be done to ensure that women in Jordan are financially included across the country.

The collaboration will take place through Microfund for Women, which provides sustainable financial services that enable women in Jordan to achieve greater financial independence.

The Fund offers small business development loans that average $539 to some of the country’s most marginalised populations (96 per cent of them women), providing them with the financial resources they need to start their own micro businesses.

To help achieve this goal, Microfund for Women has received the sum of $5m from Citibank N. A. Jordan, through Citi’s partnership with the US Government’s Overseas Private Investment Corporation. 

This amount will help provide loans to an additional 10,000 Jordanian women, increasing their number of borrowers by 7 per cent. 

Greater financial inclusion for these 10,000 women will be helpful for both the borrowers and the economy, the statement indicated. 

Noting that this is the first partnership with Citi N. A. Jordan, MFWs Managing Director Muna Sukhtian said, “This loan will be used to provide a financial resource for entrepreneurial youth, especially women in their start- ups which will have a direct positive impact on the beneficiaries and the society as a whole”.

In remarks, Nour Jarrar, Citibank N. A. Jordan’s CEO said, “The deal is just the latest example of how this innovative public-private partnership — the “Global Inclusive Finance Framework” — leverages inclusive businesses and local microfinance institutions in emerging markets across the world to extend microloans in local currencies to borrowers that need support”. 

So far, Citi Inclusive Finance and OPIC have funded 65 institutions in 50 countries. 

WASHINGTON/SINGAPORE — The United States is expected to announce on Monday that all buyers of Iranian oil will have to end their imports shortly or face sanctions, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters, triggering a 3 per cent rise in crude prices. 

The source confirmed a report by a Washington Post columnist that the administration will terminate the sanctions waivers it granted to some importers of Iranian oil late last year. 

Benchmark Brent crude oil futures rose by as much as 3.2 per cent to $74.30 a barrel, the highest since November 1, in early trading on Monday in reaction to expectations of tightening supply. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures climbed as much as 2.9 per cent to $65.87 a barrel, its highest since October 30.

US President Donald Trump has made it clear to his national security team over the last few weeks that he wants to end the waivers to exert "maximum economic pressure" on Iran by cutting off its oil exports and reducing its main revenue source to zero.

In November, the US reimposed sanctions on exports of Iranian oil after President Trump unilaterally pulled out of a 2015 nuclear accord between Iran and six world powers.

Washington, however, granted waivers to Iran's eight main buyers — China, India, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, Italy and Greece — that allowed them limited purchases for six months.

On Monday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will announce "that, as of May 2, the State Department will no longer grant sanctions waivers to any country that is currently importing Iranian crude or condensate", the Post's columnist Josh Rogin said in his report, citing two State Department officials that he did not name. 

On April 17, Frank Fannon, US assistant secretary of state for energy resources, repeated the administration's position that "our goal is to get to zero Iranian exports as quickly as possible".

Peter Kiernan, lead energy analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit, said "a severe loss in [Iranian] volumes will put pressure on the supply side, given the political uncertainty currently blighting other oil exporters, such as Venezuela and Libya".

Global oil markets have also tightened this year because of supply cuts led by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). 

As a result, Brent prices have risen by more than a third this year, and WTI more than 40 per cent over the same period. 

Kiernan said he expected the "Trump administration to try to rely on Saudi Arabia... to reverse policy and increase volumes to calm market fears of oil supplies quickly tightening".

Saudi Arabia is the world's biggest exporter of crude oil and OPEC's de-facto leader. 

"If there is a time for the US to be able to take a hard line it is now, with the Saudis having over 2 million barrels [per day] of spare capacity," said Tony Nunan, oil risk manager at Mitsubishi Corp. in Tokyo. 

Asia hit hardest 

An end to the exemptions would hit Asian buyers the hardest. Iran's biggest oil customers are China and India, who have both been lobbying for extensions to sanction waivers.

South Korea, a close US ally, is a major buyer of Iranian condensate, an ultra-light form of crude oil that its refining industry relies on to produce petrochemicals.

Government officials there declined to comment as well, but Kim Jae-kyung of the Korean Energy Economics Institute said the end of the sanction waivers "will be a problem if South Korea can't bring in cheap Iranian condensate [for] South Korean petrochemical makers". 

Japan is another close US ally in Asia that is also a traditionally significant buyer of Iranian oil.

Takayuki Nogami, chief economist at the Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation said the end of the sanction waivers "is not a good policy for Trump". 

Nogami said he expected oil prices to rise further because of the US sanctions and OPEC-led supply cuts.

So far in April, Iranian exports were averaging below 1 million barrels per day (bpd), according to Refinitiv Eikon data and two other companies that track exports and declined to be identified.

That is lower than at least 1.1 million bpd estimated for March, and down from more than 2.5 million bpd before the renewed sanctions were announced last May. 

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK — Risk-taking has been the rage since the Federal Reserve (Fed) quit hiking interest rates at the end of last year. US stocks are back near record highs and investors are stockpiling the lowest-grade corporate bonds with only a smidgen of extra compensation for the added risk.

That rebounding mood on Wall Street may be welcomed by a president that has been demanding the Fed cut rates after markets fell sharply last year, and complaining that even pausing at the current level is the wrong call.

But if anything the “pause party” on Wall Street makes it even less likely that the US central bank will cut rates. Recent positive news on retail sales and exports, which have eased concerns of a sharply slowing economy, makes the case for a rate cut even weaker.

Investors at least have gotten the message, and shifted from projecting a rate cut later this year to now putting the odds at only 50-50 that the Fed will move lower by early 2020.

The state of financial markets, say some analysts, is evidence the Fed’s rate increases last year were on point, allowing the economy to continue growing while keeping risks in check. A rate cut at this stage would only be courting problems.

“The argument for why they should keep the possibility of a rate hike on the table is because of financial stability,” Citi chief economist Catherine Mann said in remarks on Wednesday to a conference on financial stability at the Levy Economics Institute of Bard College.

After a decade of near zero interest rates, “moving towards a constellation of asset prices that embodies risks is critical for getting us to a more stable financial market”, she said, noting that both equity prices and low-grade bond yields show a market that remains too sanguine.

In their critiques of the Fed, US President Donald Trump, White House Chief Economic Adviser Larry Kudlow, and possible Fed nominee Stephen Moore have argued that lower rates would allow faster growth and be in line with Trump’s economic plans. They contend that, with the risk of inflation low, the central bank does not need to maintain “insurance” against it by keeping rates where they are.

Overlooked in that analysis are the financial stability concerns steadily integrated into Fed policymaking since the 2007 to 2009 financial crisis. Mann spoke at a conference named in honour of economist Hyman Minsky, who explored how financial excess can build during good times, and unwind in catastrophic fashion. The downturn a decade ago showed just how deeply that dynamic can scar the real economy.

Financial stability isn’t a formal mandate for the Fed, which under congressional legislation is supposed to maintain the twin goals of maximum employment and stable prices. But since the crisis the central bank has concluded that keeping financial markets on an even keel is a necessary condition for achieving the other two aims.

That does not mean an end of volatility or a guarantee of profits, but rather that risks are properly priced and that the use of leverage — investments made with borrowed money — is kept within safe limits. 

That’s a key reason why even policymakers focused on maintaining high levels of employment, like Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren, at times have taken on a hawkish tone in favor of rate increases. The worse outcome for workers, Rosengren and others have said, would be to let markets inflate too much, and crash again, even if that means risking a bit higher unemployment in the interim. 

Markets are currently “a little rich”, Rosengren said in recent remarks at Davidson College in North Carolina. 

Though not enough to warrant a rate increase, he said, it does argue against a rate reduction. Overall, Fed officials including Chairman Jerome Powell say they feel financial risks are within a manageable range, something policymakers feel has been helped along by the rate increases to date. 

The state of financial markets is “something that the Fed has to wrestle with”, Rosengren said. “It’s appropriate for interest rates to be paused right now.”

TOKYO — Japanese car giant Toyota and investment fund SoftBank Vision Fund on Friday unveiled an investment of $1 billion in US company Uber to drive forward the development of driverless ridesharing services.

The latest cash injection, expected to close in the third quarter this year, came amid fevered anticipation of Uber's public share offering which is expected to be the largest in the tech sector for years.

Toyota has already invested $500 million in Uber as the firm races Google-owned Waymo and a host of other companies, including major automakers, to develop self-driving vehicles.

The latest investment, which also involves Japanese parts maker DENSO, will go to Uber's Advanced Technologies Group in a bid to "accelerate the development and commercialisation of automated ridesharing", the firms said in a statement.

Toyota and DENSO are stumping up $667 million and SoftBank Vision Fund, the investment arm of Japanese tycoon Masayoshi Son's SoftBank, will pour $333 million into the venture. It is already the top shareholder in Uber, holding 16 per cent.

The Japanese car firm said it would also contribute "an additional $300 million over the next three years to help cover the costs related to these activities". 

Uber chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi said driverless cars would "transform transportation as we know it, making our streets safer and our cities more liveable".

His firm is aiming to go beyond car rides to becoming the "Amazon of transportation" in a future where people share, instead of own, vehicles.

If all goes to plan, commuters could ride an e-scooter to a transit station, take a train, then grab an e-bike, share a ride or take an e-scooter at the arriving station to complete a journey — all using an Uber app on a smartphone.

Uber is also seeing growing success with an "Eats" service that lets drivers make money delivering meals ordered from restaurants.

'Sharing economy' 

Last week, Uber filed official documents for its much-anticipated public share offering.

The filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission said it operates on six continents with some 14 million trips per day and has totalled more than 10 billion rides since it was founded in 2010.

The filing contained a "placeholder" amount of $1 billion to be raised but that figure is expected to increase ahead of the initial public offering (IPO) expected in May.

The Wall Street Journal said earlier this month that Uber was seeking to raise $10 billion in what would be the largest stock offering of the year.

Media reports said the ride-hailing giant was likely to seek a market value of close to $100 billion.

Uber is the largest of the "unicorns" or venture-backed firms worth at least $1 billion to list on Wall Street, and is one of the key companies in the "sharing economy" based on offering services to replace ownership of cars, homes and other commodities.

Its revenue grew 42 per cent last year to $11.2 billion but it continued to lose money from its operations. A net profit was reported for the year from a large asset sale, but operational losses were more than $3 billion.

Some analysts have voiced caution over the forthcoming IPO given a relative lacklustre debut for Lyft, the main US rival.

Khosrowshahi has promised greater transparency as he seeks to restore confidence in the global ridesharing leader hit by a wave of misconduct scandals.

In October, Toyota and SoftBank announced the creation of a joint venture to create "new mobility service" including driverless vehicles for services such as meal deliveries.

The new company — called "Monet", short for "mobility network" — is majority owned by SoftBank.

SoftBank started as a software firm but has increasingly been pushing into investments under tycoon Son, one of Japan's richest men. 

SAN FRANCISCO/SHANGHAI — Amazon.com Inc. plans to close its domestic marketplace in China by mid-July, people familiar with the matter told Reuters, focusing efforts on more lucrative businesses selling overseas goods and cloud services in the world's most populous country.

Amazon shoppers in China will no longer be able to buy goods from third-party merchants in the country, but they still will be able to order from the United States, Britain, Germany and Japan via the firm's global store. Amazon expects to close fulfillment centres and wind down support for domestic-selling merchants in China in the next 90 days, one of the people said.

The move underscores how entrenched, home-grown e-commerce rivals have made it difficult for Amazon's marketplace to gain a foothold. Consumer insights firm iResearch Global said Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.'s Tmall marketplace and JD.com Inc. controlled 81.9 per cent of the Chinese market last year.

"They're pulling out because it's not profitable and not growing," said analyst Michael Pachter at Wedbush Securities.

Ker Zheng, marketing specialist at Shenzhen-based e-commerce consultancy Azoya, said Amazon had no major competitive advantage in China over its domestic rivals.

Unless someone is searching for a very specific imported good that cannot be found elsewhere, "there's no reason for a consumer to pick Amazon because they're not going to be able to ship things as fast as Tmall or JD", he said. Amazon's customers in China will still be able to purchase the firm's Kindle e-readers and online content, and the company's local website, amazon.cn, will continue to exist, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Amazon Web Services, the company's cloud computing unit that sells data storage and computing power to enterprises, will remain as well.

The US-listed shares of Alibaba and JD.com rose 1 per cent on Wednesday after Reuters first reported the move, before paring gains later in the day. Amazon's shares closed flat.

BEIJING — China's economy grew at a steady 6.4 per cent pace in the first quarter from a year earlier, defying expectations for a further slowdown, as industrial production jumped sharply and consumer demand showed signs of improvement. 

The upbeat readings, which also showed faster growth in retail sales and investment, are likely to add to optimism that China may be starting to stabilise, relieving some investor anxiety over the sputtering global economy.

But analysts say it is too early to call a sustainable turnaround, and further policy support is likely still needed to keep the momentum going. Many had expected a recovery only in the second half of 2019.

Beijing has ramped up fiscal stimulus this year to bolster growth, announcing billions of dollars in additional tax cuts and infrastructure spending, while Chinese banks lent a record 5.8 trillion yuan ($865 billion) in the first quarter, more than the gross domestic product (GDP) of Switzerland.

"We think we need more evidence to call a full-fledged recovery of the Chinese economy. Our view for the economy is still cautious," said Jianwei Xu, senior economist, Greater China at Natixis in Hong Kong.

"We think it [the stronger-than-expected data] is somewhat linked to the stimulus, but we can't attribute it all to it." 

Analysts polled by Reuters had expected gross domestic product (GDP) growth to slow slightly to 6.3 per cent in the January-March quarter, the weakest pace in at least 27 years.

Government support measures are gradually having an effect on the economy, although it still faces downward pressure, Mao Shengyong, spokesman at the National Bureau of Statistics, cautioned on Wednesday.

First-quarter growth was supported by a sharp jump in industrial production, which surged 8.5 per cent in March from a year earlier, the fastest pace in over four-and-a-half years. The reading easily beat analysts' estimates of 5.9 per cent and the 5.3 per cent seen in the first two months of the year.

Construction materials such as steel and cement showed strong gains.

Industrial output will likely maintain steady growth, with exports expected to keep expanding, Mao said.

China's exports rebounded more than expected in March. But economists have cautioned that the export gains could have been due to seasonal factors rather than a recovery in sluggish global demand.

Tit-for-tat US-China tariffs also remain in place, although the two sides appear to be nearing a deal that could end their nine-month-long trade war.

The jump in industrial output was also somewhat at odds with trade data last week, which showed imports shrank for the fourth straight month, pointing to still sluggish domestic demand.

Improving retail sales 

Retail sales rose 8.7 per cent in March, also exceeding analyst's estimates of 8.4 per cent growth and the previous 8.2 per cent. 

Sales were led by sharply higher demand for home appliances, furniture and building materials, pointing to strength in China's residential property market. 

New home prices grew slightly faster in March after slowing in the previous month, data on Tuesday showed, bolstered by price gains in smaller cities.

Auto sales extended their decline in March, falling 4.4 per cent from a year earlier compared with a 2.8 per cent drop in the previous month. 

The fall in China's auto output and sales are expected to ease and return to growth, the statistics bureau's Mao said. 

Fixed-asset investment expanded 6.3 per cent in January-to-March from a year earlier, in line with estimates and picking up from the previous period.

Real estate investment rose 11.8 per cent in the first three months, quickening slightly from the 11.6 per cent gain in the January-to-February.

Analysts polled by Reuters expect China's economic growth to slow to a near 30-year low of 6.2 per cent this year, as sluggish demand at home and abroad and the Sino-US trade war continues to weigh on activity despite a flurry of support measures.

The government aims for economic growth of 6-6.5 per cent in 2019. 

China has rolled out many policies to support growth — the key is to implement them, Mao said.

On a quarterly basis, GDP in the first quarter grew 1.4 per cent, as expected, but dipped from 1.5 per cent in October-December.

Analysts do not expect a sharp rebound in China's economy like recoveries in the past, which produced a strong reflationary pulse worldwide, noting its latest stimulus measures have so far been relatively more restrained.

Support measures will take time to fully kick in, and corporate balance sheets are expected to remain under stress if profits are slow to recover from their worst slump in more than seven years.

The central bank has already slashed banks' reserve requirement ratio five times over the past year and is widely expected to ease policy further in coming quarters to spur lending and reduce borrowing costs.

But some analysts said authorities could be more cautious about further stimulus if data remains solid.

LONDON — Stock markets rose on Tuesday to new six-month highs after reassuring data about the health of China's economy and economic sentiment in Germany helped investors brush aside disappointing bank earnings.

The latest leg higher in a three-month long global rally comes as a degree of calm has descended across financial markets, with European stock volatility falling to its lowest since January 2018, exacerbated by a shortened trading week for the Easter holidays.

The pan-European STOXX 600 topped its strongest since October, and the MSCI world equity index also rose to a new six-month high.

Germany's DAX extended its gains to rise 0.66 per cent after the monthly ZEW survey showed the mood improved among German investors for the sixth consecutive month, while Britain's FTSE 100 also strengthened.

Wall Street was set to open higher.

The broader moves were tempered, however, after a Reuters story quoted European Central Bank sources expressing doubt about a projected eurozone growth rebound.

Italian assets sold off after the Bank of Italy warned that the country's deficit would breach European Union regulations in 2020.

Natixis Cross Asset Strategist Florent Pochon said investors were mainly focused on US earnings, especially after the first flurry of bank results made for mixed reading. 

"After the strong rally we have seen in equities, people are now waiting for the next catalyst," Pochon said. "We do expect some more positive data from Europe which should give a bit of fresh air [to European assets]." 

The US-China trade dispute, signs of slowing global corporate earnings and fears about an economic downturn have weighed on riskier assets in the past year, but investors have been quick to seize on positive news to keep the bull-market running.

All eyes are now on Chinese quarterly economic growth data due on Wednesday. After a worrying start to the year, Chinese numbers have been more positive as authorities ramped up stimulus measures, soothing investor fears about a slowdown in the world's second-biggest economy.

German government bond yields rose three basis points to 0.058 per cent, reflecting the positive sentiment as investors bought into riskier assets.

Lira under pressure

Turkey's lira was stuck near its weakest levels since October, with tumbling industrial production numbers adding to concerns about the country's economy. The lira was off 0.2 per cent at 5.8150 by 10:50 GMT. 

After a rally to five-month highs on tightening global supplies, crude oil paused on the prospect of Russia and OPEC boosting production to fight for market share with the United States.

US West Texas Intermediate rose slightly to $63.5 per barrel, while Brent crude, the global benchmark, was little changed at $71.22 a barrel.

Spot gold prices dipped as risk appetite dented demand for the precious metal's save-haven credentials.

In currency markets, the euro dipped 0.2 per cent after the Reuters story on ECB sources questioning forecasts for an economic rebound. The single currency later recovered to $1.1301, down marginally, while the dollar was unchanged.

The Australian dollar dived after the central bank said an interest rate cut would be appropriate should inflation stay low and unemployment trend higher.

The Aussie shed 0.4 per cent to $0.7144.

Many investors are now waiting on Chinese gross domestic product. A Reuters poll forecast first-quarter growth to have cooled to 6.3 per cent, the weakest pace in at least 27 years, but a flurry of measures to boost domestic demand may have put a floor under slowing activity in March.

Stephen Gallo, European head of FX Strategy at BMO Capital Markets, said investors should scrutinise price moves in oil, emerging market equities and base and precious metals for the remainder of this week.

"For the most part, those indicators demonstrate that the global 'reflation and growth stabilisation trades' have already come a long way," he wrote in a research note to clients.

"This further emphasises the fact that, broadly speaking, investors are waiting for catalysts, which will take the form of either 1) big news on trade talks, 2) a sustained and convincing shift in the economic data one way or another or 3) new central bank action." 

AMMAN — The Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) is still receiving the quarterly reports of the period that ended in March 31, 2019, from all ASE-listed companies, ASE Chief Executive Officer Nader Azar said.

In a statement posted on the ASE website, he said the listed companies must submit quarterly reports reviewed by their auditors within one month after the end of the said quarter, in accordance with the market’s directives.

He added that the ASE will suspend the shares of the breaching companies as of the first working day following the deadline of receiving the reports until the companies submit the required reports. 

The ASE will announce the names of breaching companies that did not submit their reviewed interim reports via media outlets, according to the ASE statement.

Such a step seeks to enhance transparency in Jordan Capital Market and helps investors to become acquainted with companies’ results. 

The ASE circulates the reports to brokerage firms and posts them on its website, the statement indicated. 

SAN FRANCISCO — Apple and its allies on Monday will kick off a jury trial against chip supplier Qualcomm Inc. in San Diego, alleging that Qualcomm engaged in illegal patent licensing practices and seeking up to $27 billion in damages. 

Qualcomm, for its part, alleges that Apple forced its longtime business partners to quit paying some royalties and is seeking up to $15 billion.

Filed by Apple in early 2017, the lawsuit in federal court revolves around the modem chips that connect devices like the iPhone or Apple Watch to wireless data networks. Qualcomm has spent the past two years mounting a pressure campaign of smaller legal skirmishes against Apple, seeking — and in some cases obtaining — iPhone sales bans for violating its patents.

The trial before Judge Gonzalo Curiel will play out on Qualcomm's home turf of San Diego, where for decades the city's National Football League team played in Qualcomm Stadium and nearly every business district hosts the mobile chip firm's logo.

For Apple, the trial is about the freedom to determine its own technology path for blockbuster products by buying chips without having to pay what it calls a "tax" on its innovations in the form of patent licensing fees to Qualcomm that take a cut of the selling price of its devices. 

For Qualcomm, the trial, along with similar allegations from US regulators in a January court hearing, will determine the fate of its unique blend of selling chips and licensing more than 130,000 patents. 

Licensing generates most of Qualcomm profits. The model propelled Qualcomm from a small contract research and development shop when founded in 1985 to a global chip powerhouse important enough to US national security that President Donald Trump personally intervened to prevent a hostile takeover of the company last year.

"This is the day of reckoning that Qualcomm has been very fortunate to avoid for many years," said Gaston Kroub, a patent attorney with Kroub, Silbersher & Kolmykov who is not involved in the case. "In Apple, they've finally come up against a potential licensee that has the resources and the will to put Qualcomm's business model and licensing practices on trial."

Qualcomm requires device makers to sign a license to its patents before it will supply chips, which it views as a commonsense measure to ensure it does not do business with companies violating its patents. But Apple and other device makers around the world have called the "no license, no chips" policy a form of "double dipping" — that is, charging for the same intellectual property once during licensing discussions and then again in the price of the chips where the patents are embodied.

Apple and allies are asking for an end to that practice and a refund of about $9 billion — an amount that could be tripled if a jury finds in Apple's favour for antitrust allegations — for contract factories such as Hon Hai Precision Industry’s Foxconn, who paid the royalties and were reimbursed by Apple. Apple alleges the practices kept rivals like Intel Corp. out of the market for years.

"Even very big companies like Intel have felt at a disadvantage," said Michael Salzman, an antitrust attorney with Hughes Hubbard & Reed not involved in the case.

Qualcomm will argue that it had been working successfully with contract factories for years before Apple introduced its iPhone. But Apple used its heft in the industry to get those factories to break their longstanding contracts with Qualcomm, depriving it of at least $7 billion in royalties it was due, the chip supplier alleges. 

The chip supplier will also argue that its licensing practices have been consistent for decades and only came under fire when Apple, known in the electronics industry for pushing suppliers to contain costs, took issue with it. A victory would secure Qualcomm's status as a major technology provider for 5G, the next generation of mobile data networks coming online this year.

"I don't think [a Qualcomm victory] would be great for Apple, but if it's about money, they've got plenty of money," said Stacy Rasgon, an equity analyst for Bernstein who follows Qualcomm. "For Qualcomm, it's an existential attack on the meat of their business model."