Cook conceals the fact that China's demand for iPhone is declining, and a US judge rejects Apple's request to withdraw the class action lawsuit.

CTOnews.com, June 27 (Xinhua)-- A US judge has now rejected Apple's application to withdraw a class action lawsuit accusing Apple CEO Tim Cook (Tim Cook) of deceiving shareholders by concealing declining demand for iPhone in China.

The case, brought by shareholders led by a UK pension fund, came after Mr Cook said on an analyst conference call in November 2018 that while Apple was under sales pressure in some markets, such as Brazil, India, Russia and Turkey, the currencies of these countries have depreciated, but "I don't think China falls into this category".

But in fact, Apple told suppliers to reduce production just a few days later and cut its quarterly revenue forecast by up to $9 billion on January 2, 2019 (CTOnews.com Note: currently about 65.16 billion yuan). This is the first time Apple has lowered its revenue forecast since the release of the iPhone in 2007. As a result, its share price fell 10% the next day.

Tuyuan Pixabay United States District Judge Eunice Gonzalez Rogers (Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers) issued a ruling on Monday night.

Judge Rogers said the jury could reasonably infer that Cook was discussing Apple's sales prospects in China, rather than past performance or the impact of currency changes. She also said that before Mr Cook's comments, Apple knew that China's economy had been slowing and that there were data suggesting that demand was likely to fall. "the jury can find that the failure to disclose these risks caused harm to the plaintiffs."

Apple and its lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. Lawyers for shareholders did not immediately respond to similar requests.

It is reported that the plaintiff in the case is the Norfolk County Council (Norfolk County Council as Administering Authority of the Norfolk Pension Fund) in Norwich, England, which is the management body of the Norfolk County Pension Fund.